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 .