Added sugars, saturated fat, and sodium intake from snacks among U.S. adolescents by eating location

Snacking away from home is thought to contribute to excess intake of energy, added sugars, saturated fat, and sodium compared to snacking at home. Using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2009–2016, we examined associations between location of snack consumption (at home or away from home) and added sugars, saturated fat, and sodium intake from food and beverage snacks in U.S. adolescents aged 12–19. We also compared top snack contributors to intakes of these nutrients by location of consumption. Nutrient intake (added sugars, saturated fat, and sodium) from food and beverage snacks was estimated by the average intake from two 24-hour dietary recalls, and location of consumption for each snack was reported by participants as at home or away from home. Adjusted mixed effects models were performed to examine associations between nutrient intakes and the location of consumption. Adolescents (n = 3,869) had lower intakes of added sugars (−5.20 g/day), saturated fat (−2.06 g/day) and sodium (−170.15 mg/day) from food snacks consumed away from home compared to at home (p < 0.0001). Similarly, adolescents had lower intake of added sugars (−2.74 g/day), saturated fat (−0.32 g/day) and sodium (−16.04 mg/day) from beverage snacks consumed away from home compared to at home (p < 0.0001). The top contributors to the target nutrients were similar irrespective of location. Taken together, our results demonstrate that adolescents consumed more target nutrients from snacks at home than away from home. Larger snack portion sizes and higher frequency of snacking at home may explain these findings and requires further study.