TABLE 3.

Estimated percentages of individuals consuming snacks at specified times of day, mean number of snacks consumed at these times, and mean energy content of each snack for those consuming at least 1 snack on a given day, by age group: Mexico, 2012¹

		Snack occasions
	Sample size	Before breakfast	Midmorning	Midafternoon	Late night
	n
All ages	9937
Snack consumers, %		13.6 ± 0.69	59.7 ± 1.58	64.8 ± 1.37	16.9 ± 0.61
Snack frequency, number/d		0.19 ± 0.009	0.82 ± 0.019	0.89 ± 0.016	0.23 ± 0.008
Energy from snacks, kcal		32 ± 3.6	88 ± 3.8	119 ± 4.4	41 ± 3.8
Age group (y)
2–5	2071
Snack consumers, %		16.3 ± 1.18	70.8 ± 2.94	88.3 ± 3.03	20.6 ± 1.39
Snack frequency, number/d		0.20 ± 0.014	0.89 ± 0.033	1.11 ± 0.033	0.26 ± 0.017
Energy from snacks, kcal		42 ± 4.5	96 ± 6.8	121 ± 5.6	36 ± 3.7
6–11	2418
Snack consumers, %		8.3 ± 0.83	60.1 ± 2.09	72.7 ± 2.24	13.9 ± 1.02
Snack frequency, number/d		0.11 ± 0.011	0.79 ± 0.024	0.96 ± 0.025	0.18 ± 0.013
Energy from snacks, kcal		25 ± 5.0	137 ± 10.0	155 ± 9.6	25 ± 2.8
12–18	1932
Snack consumers, %		10.6 ± 1.11	58.4 ± 2.95	72.6 ± 3.08	15.4 ± 1.12
Snack frequency, number/d		0.15 ± 0.015	0.80 ± 0.036	0.99 ± 0.035	0.21 ± 0.015
Energy from snacks, kcal		24 ± 3.9	120 ± 11.4	162 ± 11.1	31 ± 6.3
19–39	1508
Snack consumers, %		14.2 ± 1.68	62.9 ± 3.07	62.2 ± 2.83	17.9 ± 1.47
Snack frequency, number/d		0.19 ± 0.029	0.84 ± 0.037	0.83 ± 0.034	0.24 ± 0.019
Energy from snacks, kcal		40 ± 10.5	76 ± 7.4	105 ± 9.0	55 ± 8.5
40–59	983
Snack consumers, %		14.8 ± 1.58	55.3 ± 4.20	52.3 ± 3.28	16.1 ± 1.47
Snack frequency, number/d		0.22 ± 0.023	0.83 ± 0.054	0.79 ± 0.044	0.24 ± 0.021
Energy from snacks, kcal		25 ± 5.1	68 ± 10.7	105 ± 13.7	45 ± 13.1
≥60	1025
Snack consumers, %		14.1 ± 2.22	48.2 ± 4.09	50.4 ± 3.26	16.2 ± 1.85
Snack frequency, number/d		0.21 ± 0.031	0.71 ± 0.054	0.74 ± 0.044	0.24 ± 0.026
Energy from snacks, kcal		23 ± 4.9	45 ± 6.1	88 ± 10.3	26 ± 5.8

¹Values are means ± SEs for the percentage of people consuming a snack at the given time period (e.g., midmorning), the number of snacks consumed during each time period, and the energy from snacks during that time period. Predetermined and self-reported eating occasions are defined as follows: before breakfast, breakfast, lunch, midmorning snack, dinner, midafternoon snack, and before going to sleep (late night). Up to 4 snacks were recorded during midmorning and midafternoon snack periods, but only 1 was recorded before breakfast and during the late night snack occasion. Data are from the Mexican National Health and Nutrition Survey, 2012.