Snack foods and beverages for children: Eat or not to eat?

BACKGROUND: Snack foods; crisps and biscuits, and beverages; fruit juices and soft drinks, are some of the most commonly consumed products by children of school age worldwide. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to investigate if snack foods and beverages are suitable for consumption by children of school age through recording and comparing the nutritional information presented on the nutrition panel such as energy, protein, total carbohydrates and total fat for these products. METHODS: The nutritional information from 56 products sold in different supermarket out lets across Muscat, the capital city of Oman, was collected and statistically analysed using the mean and the percentage of Recommended Daily Intake. RESULTS: Based on the percentage of Recommended Daily Intake of energy and nutrients, crisps offer higher amounts of energy and total fat for children when compared to biscuits. Meanwhile, biscuits offer lower amount of energy than crisps but offer a higher amount of total carbohydrates for children. Regarding fruit juices and soft drinks, the former offer higher amount of energy than the later but both, however, offer comparable amounts of total carbohydrates. CONCLUSION: Upon comparing the nutritional information of the products studied and considering their nutritional benefits and health risks, it seems that biscuits are suitable choice for children.