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The cross-sectional association between snacking behaviour and measures of adiposity: the Fenland Study, UK

Overview of attention for article published in British Journal of Nutrition, September 2015
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About this Attention Score

  • In the top 5% of all research outputs scored by Altmetric
  • High Attention Score compared to outputs of the same age (95th percentile)
  • High Attention Score compared to outputs of the same age and source (86th percentile)

Mentioned by

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2 news outlets
blogs
1 blog
twitter
38 X users
facebook
2 Facebook pages

Citations

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87 Dimensions

Readers on

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251 Mendeley
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Title
The cross-sectional association between snacking behaviour and measures of adiposity: the Fenland Study, UK
Published in
British Journal of Nutrition, September 2015
DOI 10.1017/s000711451500269x
Pubmed ID
Authors

Laura O’Connor, Soren Brage, Simon J. Griffin, Nicholas J. Wareham, Nita G. Forouhi

Abstract

Unhealthy dietary behaviours may contribute to obesity along with energy imbalance. Both positive and null associations of snacking and BMI have been reported, but the association between snacking and total adiposity or pattern of fat deposition remains unevaluated. The objective of this study was to investigate the associations between snacking frequency and detailed adiposity measurements. A total of 10 092 adults residing in Cambridgeshire, England, self-completed eating pattern snacking frequency, FFQ and physical activity questionnaires. Measurements included anthropometry, body composition using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry scan and ultrasound and assessment of physical activity energy expenditure using heart rate and movement sensing. Linear regression analyses were conducted adjusted for age, socio-demographics, dietary quality, energy intake, PAEE and screen time by sex and BMI status. Among normal-weight individuals (BMI<25 kg/m2), each additional snack was inversely associated with obesity measures: lower total body fat in men and women (-0·41 (95 % CI -0·74, -0·07) %, -0·41 (-0·67, -0·15) %, respectively) and waist circumference (-0·52 (-0·90, -0·14) cm) in men. In contrast, among the overweight/obese (BMI≥25 kg/m2), there were positive associations: higher waist circumference (0·80 (0·34, 0·28) cm) and subcutaneous fat (0·06 (0·01, 0·110) cm) in women and waist circumference (0·37 (0·00, 0·73) cm) in men. Comparing intakes of snack-type foods showed that participants with BMI≥25 kg/m2 had higher intakes of crisps, sweets, chocolates and ice-creams and lower intakes of yoghurt and nuts compared with normal-weight participants. Adjusting for these foods in a model that included a BMI-snacking interaction term attenuated all the associations to null. Snacking frequency may be associated with higher or lower adiposity, with the direction of association being differential by BMI status and dependent on snack food choice. Improving snack choices could contribute to anti-obesity public health interventions.

X Demographics

X Demographics

The data shown below were collected from the profiles of 38 X users who shared this research output. Click here to find out more about how the information was compiled.
Mendeley readers

Mendeley readers

The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 251 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.

Geographical breakdown

Country Count As %
United Kingdom 4 2%
Spain 1 <1%
Italy 1 <1%
Unknown 245 98%

Demographic breakdown

Readers by professional status Count As %
Student > Master 37 15%
Student > Ph. D. Student 32 13%
Student > Bachelor 31 12%
Student > Postgraduate 15 6%
Researcher 13 5%
Other 49 20%
Unknown 74 29%
Readers by discipline Count As %
Medicine and Dentistry 52 21%
Nursing and Health Professions 34 14%
Agricultural and Biological Sciences 20 8%
Social Sciences 10 4%
Sports and Recreations 9 4%
Other 42 17%
Unknown 84 33%
Attention Score in Context

Attention Score in Context

This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 50. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 30 August 2023.
All research outputs
#840,336
of 25,411,814 outputs
Outputs from British Journal of Nutrition
#458
of 6,281 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#11,470
of 279,043 outputs
Outputs of similar age from British Journal of Nutrition
#18
of 133 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 25,411,814 research outputs across all sources so far. Compared to these this one has done particularly well and is in the 96th percentile: it's in the top 5% of all research outputs ever tracked by Altmetric.
So far Altmetric has tracked 6,281 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a lot more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 19.5. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 92% of its peers.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 279,043 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 95% of its contemporaries.
We're also able to compare this research output to 133 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has done well, scoring higher than 86% of its contemporaries.