Use of food labels by adolescents to make healthier choices on snacks: a cross-sectional study from Sri Lanka

BMC Public Health

Table 1 Snacking behaviour of adolescents in Grade 12 (n = 542)

Snacking behaviour	Number	Percentage
Frequency of snacking
More than 5 times a week	70	12.9
3–5 times a week	197	36.3
1–2 times a week	275	50.7
Most frequent snacking time^a
During school interval	209	40.9
During tuition classes outside school	126	24.7
At home	74	14.5
During school extra-curricular activities	65	12.7
During recreational activities outside school	37	7.2
Snacking with peers/siblings^b
Yes	425	80.0
No*	106	20.0
Decision made on the snack
Alone	479	88.4
Parents	36	6.6
Peer/siblings	27	5.0
Most commonly consumed packaged foodsnack^c
Biscuits	463	85.4
Noodles	359	66.2
Chocolates	332	61.3
Most commonly consumed packaged/bottled drink snack^c
Cola drinks	417	76.9
Milk	383	70.7

^aInformation was not available for 31 students
^bInformation was not available for 11 students
^cStudents were asked to write three most commonly consumed packaged food and drink items
*With parents/alone

ISSN: 1471-2458