title: Is snack consumption associated with meal skipping in children and adolescents? The CASPIAN-IV study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The present inquiry set to assess the relationship between snack consumption and meal skipping in Iranian children and adolescents.
  
  
  METHODS
  Overall, 14,880 students, aged 6-18 years, were selected via multistage cluster sampling method from rural and urban areas of 30 provinces of Iran. A validated questionnaire of food behaviors including questions on snacks consumption and taking/skipping meals was completed. Consuming and skipping meals and their related factors were reported in both crude and adjusted models.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overall, 13,486 students with a mean age of 12.47 ± 3.36 years completed the study (90.6% participation rate). Among them, 32.08, 8.89, and 10.90% skipped breakfast, lunch, and dinner, respectively. Compared to their counterpart groups, the frequency of meal skipping was higher in girls, urban inhabitants, and students in higher school grades (P < 0.05). Snack consumption was associated with an increased odds ratio of meal skipping in many types of snack groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Meal skipping and snack consumption were frequent among Iranian children and adolescents. Evidence based interventions are proposed to improve the students' eating habits.
authors.affiliation: Paediatrics Department, Child Growth and Development Research Center, Research Institute for Primordial Prevention of Non-communicable Disease, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
authors.forename: Roya
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kelishadi
authors.affiliation: Paediatrics Department, Child Growth and Development Research Center, Research Institute for Primordial Prevention of Non-communicable Disease, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
authors.forename: Nafiseh
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Mozafarian
authors.affiliation: Non-Communicable Diseases Research Center, Alborz University of Medical Sciences, Baghestan Boulevard, 31485/56, Karaj, Iran. mqorbani1379@yahoo.com.|Chronic Diseases Research Center, Endocrinology and Metabolism Population Sciences Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. mqorbani1379@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Mostafa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Qorbani
authors.affiliation: Paediatrics Department, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran.
authors.forename: Mohammad Esmaeil
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Motlagh
authors.affiliation: Managerial Epidemiology Research Center, Department of Public Health, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Maragheh University of Medical Sciences, Maragheh, Iran.
authors.forename: Saeid
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Safiri
authors.affiliation: Paediatrics Department, Child Growth and Development Research Center, Research Institute for Primordial Prevention of Non-communicable Disease, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
authors.forename: Gelayol
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ardalan
authors.affiliation: Paediatrics Department, Child Growth and Development Research Center, Research Institute for Primordial Prevention of Non-communicable Disease, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
authors.forename: Mojtaba
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Keikhah
authors.affiliation: Department of Social Medicine, Medical School, Jahrom University of Medical Sciences, Jahrom, Iran.
authors.forename: Fatemeh
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Rezaei
authors.affiliation: Chronic Diseases Research Center, Endocrinology and Metabolism Population Sciences Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. rheshmat@tums.ac.ir.
authors.forename: Ramin
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Heshmat
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002149:Energy Intake; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D062407:Meals; D062410:Snacks; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Adolescents; Children; Meal skipping; Snack consumption