Snack Preferences among School-Aged Children: Evidence from Discrete Choice Experiments

Background Accelerated economic development and innovative food industry trends have contributed to worsening dietary imbalanced among Chinese school-aged population.To investigate snack preferences among school-aged children, determine the relative importance of different snack attributes, and explore how these preferences vary by social-demographic characteristics to inform targeted nutritional interventions. Methods A stratified cluster random sampling strategy was employed to recruit 854 junior school students (grades 7 and 8) from Hubei and Anhui provinces. An evaluation framework comprising six attributes (taste, nutrient claims, purchase location, price, package size, and social influence) was constructed based on a Discrete Choice Experiment (DCE). A D-optimal design was implemented using SAS 9.4 software to generate 16 choice sets (divided into two versions), with two-stage questions incorporated to mitigate bias. A mixed logit model was applied to calculate preference coefficients (β), relative importance (RI), and willingness-to-pay (WTP) for different attributes. Results All six included attributes demonstrated statistically significant effects on school-aged children's snack choices (all P  < 0.05). Specifically, children showed stronger preferences for snacks sold in supermarkets (β = 0.439), those rich in dietary fiber (β = 0.611), with sweet taste (β = 0.471), and commonly consumed by family members (β = 0.452). They were willing to pay an additional 10.89 CNY for snacks rich in dietary fiber. Large package size (β=-0.112) and price (β=-0.013) showed slight negative associations. Heterogeneity analysis revealed that boys preferred snacks rich in dietary fiber (β = 0.554) and were more price-sensitive (β=-0.026), while girls prioritized low-fat options (β = 0.738) and showed lower willingness to choose large packages (β=-0.259). Children with less-educated parents placed greater emphasis on taste (RI = 25.33%), whereas those from highly-educated families valued package size more (RI = 10.43%). Overweight children preferred spicy snacks (β = 0.448) and were more price-sensitive (β=-0.115), while normal-weight children tended to choose sweet-tasting snacks (β = 0.510). Conclusion Snack preferences among school-aged children vary significantly by socio-demographic characteristics.