Prevalence of anxiety and it's relationship with consumption of snacks in high school students in Shiraz

Anxiety is one of the most common disorders and may be influenced by environmental factors، such as diet. This study was caried out to determine the prevalence of anxiety and it''s relationship with consumption of snacks in high school students in Shiraz. In this cross-sectional study، 480 students through cluster sampling from grade 3 in high school and pre-university level were selected from 4 districts in Shiraz. Considering the diffusion and matching 411 students participated in the study. Data was collected using a questionnaire containing 4 sections: demographic data، anthropometric parts، Beck anxiety questionnaire and food frequency questionnaire. Data were analyzed using SPSS، t-test and Chi-square. The rate of anxiety was 54. 5% in total، 50% and 59% respectively for grade 3 in high school and pre-university students. Anxiety prevalence was significantly higher in girls than in boys (64. 5% and 44. 7% for girls and boy respectively، P<0. 001). There was a significant invers relationship between anxiety and body weight (P=0. 013). Dairy consumption in anxious pre-university students (P=0. 014) and nuts consumption in anxious students (P=0. 025) were significantly lower than their non-anxious counterparts. Considering the anxiety prevalence and low consumption of snacks، it is recommended to do some actions in reducing the anxiety and improving the snacks consumtion.