[Snacks consumption among residents in Shenzhen City]

To describe the status of snacks consumption among residents in Shenzhen.

By a multiple stage probability proportionate to size sampling, 12 communities were randomly selected from 8 districts of Shenzhen based on population proportion. In the second stage, 30 households were randomly selected from each community. In each household, 2 years or older were invited to take dietary survey.

There were 66.1% residents consuming snacks. More girls ate snacks than boys (chi2 = 11.552, P < 0.01) and more children and adolescents ate snacks than adults (chi2 = 27.207, P < 0.01). The average daily intake of energy, protein, fat, carbohydrate, fiber, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E, calcium, sodium,magnesium, iron and zinc from snacks were 107.8 kcal (451.5 kJ), 1.7 g, 0.8 g, 22.0 g, 1.1 g, 23.1 microg, 8.3 mg, 1.1 mg,17.0 mg, 9.3 mg, 21.0 mg, 0.8 mg and 0.4 mg. Food categories the most frequently consumed as snacks were fruit, pastry, milk and products, beverages and grains.

It's important to strengthen the diet education among residents in Shenzhen, especially the knowledge how to select snacks correctly and rationally.