Characterizing children’s eating patterns: does the choice of eating occasion definition matter?

Abstract Background Recommendations to define eating occasions (EO) currently exist for research in adults, but not for children or adolescents. We examined how varying EO definitions affect the characterization of eating patterns in children and adolescents. Methods Cross-sectional dietary data collected using a 24-h recall data during the 2011–12 Australian National Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey (1364 boys and 1337 girls aged 2–18 years) were analyzed. Eight definitions were applied: participant-identified, time-of-day, and 6 neutral definitions (EO separated by 15- or 60-min and/or an additional energy criterion of 21 or 210 kJ). Frequency of and total energy intake from meals, snacks, and all EO were estimated. F tests stratified by gender and age-group, were used to assess differences between definitions. Agreement between definitions of meal and snack frequencies was assessed using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC). Linear regression was used to estimate the proportion of variance in total energy intake (kJ) and BMI z-score predicted by each definition. Results Mean frequencies of meals and snacks differed between the participant-identified and time-of-day definitions, in boys and girls and for all age groups (P