What is a “Snack”? Perspectives from Adolescents in Urban Communities

ABSTRACT

Snacking contributes significantly to U.S. adolescents’ dietary intake and is a particularly significant eating occasion for urban adolescents, who have high amounts of food autonomy and access to corner stores. Consequently, research has focused on understanding and improving snacking among urban adolescents. However, the word “snack” possesses several definitions in the literature, leading to inconsistences in research efforts. As such, the aim of this study was to explore the definition of a snack among urban adolescents by conducting phone interviews with 30 adolescents from a Boys & Girls Club in New York City. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using thematic analysis. Overall, adolescents defined a snack as a small, unhealthy food item that can be quickly eaten to reduce hunger between meals. Future directions include using the definition of a snack that emerged from this study to improve subsequent adolescent snacking interventions.

KEYWORDS:

• Snacking
• adolescent
• urban
• interview
• qualitative research

Acknowledgments

This research study received funding from the Cornell University College of Human Ecology Alumni Association and the Cornell University Qualitative and Interpretive Research Institute. In addition, the authors would like to thank the staff and youth members of the Boys and Girls Club for their support and continued collaboration, all of which made this research possible.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Qualitative and Interpretive Research Institute, Cornell University [N/A]; College of Human Ecology Alumni Association, Cornell University [N/A].