Tracking snacking in real time: Time to look at individualised patterns of behaviour

Citation

Allan J, McMinn D & Powell D (2019) Tracking snacking in real time: Time to look at individualised patterns of behaviour. Nutrition and Health, 25 (3), pp. 179-184. https://doi.org/10.1177/0260106019866099

Abstract
Background: Identifying when and where people overeat is important for intervention design, yet little is known about how unhealthy behaviours unfold in real life. Aim: To track the activities, social contexts and locations that co-occur with unhealthy snacking. Methods: 64 adults (49F, mean age= 38.6 years) used electronic diaries to record snacking, location, social context and current activity every waking hour over 7 days. The proportion of snacking episodes that co-occurred with each location/activity/context were calculated by group and individual. Results: Over the group, snacking was most frequent whilst socialising (19.9% of hours spent socialising) or using the TV/computer (19.7%), when with friends (16.7%) and when at home (15.3%). All intra-class correlation statistics for cued behaviour were low, indicating the importance of within-person variability. There were marked individual differences between people in what constituted a {\textquoteleft}typical{\textquoteright} context for snacking. Conclusions: People show substantial differences in the contexts in which they snack. Tailoring interventions to these individual patterns of behaviour may improve intervention efficacy.

Keywords
snacking; overweight; obesity; context; individual differences; real time

Journal
Nutrition and Health: Volume 25, Issue 3

People

Professor Julia Allan

Professor in Psychology, Psychology