To understand more specifically how the quality, quantity and frequency of snack food consumption differs in different BMI categories.
Four hundred and forty-nine school-aged children (grade 4-6) from a Kanien'kehaka (Mohawk) community provided a 24 h recall and their height and weight in 1994, 1998 and 2002, in three independent cross-sectional samples. Food consumed between two consecutive meals was defined as a snacking occasion. ANOVA and chi2 tests were used to compare food choices between BMI categories according to food quality criteria and food groups in 2006. Logistic regression models were performed to compare results between normal-weight children and those at risk of overweight and between normal-weight and overweight children.
Energy intake from snacks tended to be higher for children at risk of overweight, compared with the other two BMI categories. Food groups with a higher energy density were also consumed more frequently by these children, with larger average portions of cereal bars (P