late adolescents phase is the most active periods of life because of double demand of activity and growth , as a result nutritional needs are extremely important at this phase of time .
although snacking is a well - established eating pattern among adolescents and can be a source of needed nutrients and calories , it is important that they dont become a substitute for regular meal as it may further lead to cause the development of serious syndrome .
night eating syndrome ( nes ) is one such very specific disorder where the affected individuals wake up several times during the night and is unable to fall back asleep unless they eat something .
individuals with the disorder consume one third or more of their daily calories after their evening meal , sometimes rising from their beds once or twice a night to snack . when sleeping and eating behaviors are simultaneously affected ,
often there is spectrum of disease states that may result and often lead to nes .
these unhealthy eating behaviors , faulty food habits such as omitting main meal , and frequent snacking prevalent among adolescents , are also the cause of faulty food habits causing nes . keeping the above in mind
, the present study was undertaken to analyze the pattern of nes among the late adolescents .
a sample of 380 adolescents ( 188 male and 192 female ) with in the age range of 18 - 22 years were randomly selected from the local five co - educational colleges of chandigarh and hostlers of the same college were also included in the study .
questions regarding the respondents sleeping habit , reasons and duration of night snacking were asked from the studied respondents .
mean , frequency , percentage and chi square test was used further for analysis of the data .
looking at the nes perspective of the studied respondents , results indicated that out of total 380 adolescents , inadequate sleep was seen among more than half of the adolescents i.e. 55.8% , complaining with few brief awakenings at night .
highly significant results were seen when chi square value was applied between hostlers and day scholars ( =79.14 and p value < 0.001 ) .
these specific respondents also complained of nigh snacking and almost 52.3% respondents snacked at night , out of which the percentage of hostlers were ( 76.3% ) more than day scholars .
further it was also found that 30.7% respondents snacked almost up to 50% their total calories after evening meal while 1% of studied respondents snacked up to 75% of total calories after dinner meeting up the criteria of nes .
the results thus depicted that hostlers were highly involved in eating snacks after dinner than day scholars due to the reason that , hostlers have more fluctuating eating pattern as there is no one to take care of them , moreover late night sleeping and getting up late is also the reason behind late night snacking among adolescents .
as seen in the present study , hostlers group were more seen to have night eating behaviors . as , the present study reveals ,
night snacking syndrome are associated with a number of harmful behaviors , physical and psychological consequences , including poor dietary quality and also skipping main meal and nibbling at night have led to significant changes seen in the eating pattern and life style of late adolescents , further under going night time snacking . as shown in the present study , these fluctuating and changed patterns together could force the youngsters at risk of various chronic illnesses further disrupting their health status and eating attitude , causing clinical eating disorders .
so awareness regarding healthy eating is what needed to secure the health of youth and further improving the future generation of the country .
moreover , snacks and fast food items should be used as food items of leisure and should not take over as items of regular meals .
thus by educating youth we can build up strong nation , as youth are the strong foundation of the country and so it is important to identify strategies for the prevention of nes .
 with the increase in the trend of social networking , celebrations , over a couple of decades weather in the hostel or at home . snacking has become an important aspect of activity . 
 today teen prefer snacks more than a proper meal . 
 skipping of meal and nibbling in between meal is a common practice . 
 the main meals ( breakfast , lunch and dinner ) are missed and total proportions of calories are consumed from the snacks eaten . hence , this disordered eating behavior when continued may further lead to development of serious syndrome i.e. , night eating syndrome . 
 a purposive random sample comprising 188 males and 192 females ( n=380 ) , adolescents ( 18 - 22 years ) were selected including hostlers and day scholars . 
 the subjects were administered with self - organized questionnaire so to analyze the pattern of nes among them . out of total 380 respondents , 
 the numbers of hostlers were 211 and day scholars 169 , while boys were 188 and girls were 192 in number . 
 results indicated that nearly half the percentage of adolescents snacked at night , out of which very few respondents met the criteria of nes , in which the number of hostlers were quite more than the day scholars , i.e.,76.3% . 
INTRODUCTION
METHODS
RESULTS
DISCUSSION