Lifestyle correlates of preference for sweet food in Hong Kong children

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Sweetness preference is an important predictor of dietary practices and has been linked to unhealthy eating habits in adults. OBJECTIVE: To identify lifestyle factors associated with sweetness preference in Hong Kong children. METHODS: A lifestyle questionnaire was distributed to 105910 Primary 4 students (50.7% boys, mean age 10.0 (SD 0.7)) at the annual health examination conducted by Student Health Service in 1998-2000. Sweetness preference was assessed by “My attitude towards sweet food is”. Students with the option “I like them very much” were categorized as sweetness preference. A binary regression model was fitted to assess the associations between sweetness preference and 9 lifestyle factors, adjusted for sex, age, Body Mass Index and socio-economic proxies. RESULTS: Among the attendees, 37.6% reported sweetness preference. Sweetness preference was significantly associated with not eating breakfast or lunch at home, less frequently having dinner at home. More frequent junk food consumption (everyday vs never; OR 1.22; 95% CI 1.09-1.38), longer duration of TV watching (≥4h/day vs <1h/day; OR 1.60; 95% CI 1.52-1.68) and more frequently playing video/computer games (sometimes vs never; OR 1.38; 95% CI 1.31-1.45) were related to sweetness preference. Less frequent vegetable/fruit consumption (<once/week vs ≥3 times/day; OR 1.38; 95% CI 1.30-1.47), physical activities (never vs ≥ 3 times/week; OR 1.72; 95% CI 1.63-1.81) and teeth brushing (never vs ≥ 2/ day; OR 1.47; 95% CI 1.37-1.58) were strong predictors of sweetness preference. CONCLUSION: Unhealthy lifestyles were associated with sweetness preference among Hong Kong children.