"Snack Nation"
We found an interested article from Nutrition Action magazine's May 2010 edition, and thought to pass it on to anyone interested. We'd like to hear your thoughts on this topic.
Snack Nation
We snack more often than we did 30 years ago, and we consume roughly twice as many calories as snacks than we did in the 1970s. Researchers compared nationwide surveys of 28,000 children and 37,000 adults done in the mid-1970s, the mid-1990s, and from 2003 to 2006. During the 30-year period, the time between eating occasions (meals or snacks) shrank by 1 hour for both groups. In the most recent survey, eating occasions were 3 hours apart for adults and 3.5 hours apart for children.
Daily calories for both groups climbed from roughly 2,090 in the mid-1970s, to 2,400 in the mid-1990s to 2,500 in the latest survey. But snacks grew more than meals. The average adult consumed roughly 200 calories from snacks in the mid-1970s, 360 calories in the mid-1990s, and 470 calories in the latest survey. The average child consumed roughly 240 calories from snacks in the mid-1970s, 420 calories in the mid-1990s, and 500 calories in the latest survey.
What to do: What those snacks. They're not necessarily harmful, but they can boost your total daily calories. And surveys like these usually underestimate how much food people eat. Also watch out for beverages. They contribute to 420 calories a day to the average adult's diet, up from 290 calories in the 1970s.
"Does hunger and satiety drive eating anymore?" ask the study's authors. Good questions.
Snack Nation
We snack more often than we did 30 years ago, and we consume roughly twice as many calories as snacks than we did in the 1970s. Researchers compared nationwide surveys of 28,000 children and 37,000 adults done in the mid-1970s, the mid-1990s, and from 2003 to 2006. During the 30-year period, the time between eating occasions (meals or snacks) shrank by 1 hour for both groups. In the most recent survey, eating occasions were 3 hours apart for adults and 3.5 hours apart for children.
Daily calories for both groups climbed from roughly 2,090 in the mid-1970s, to 2,400 in the mid-1990s to 2,500 in the latest survey. But snacks grew more than meals. The average adult consumed roughly 200 calories from snacks in the mid-1970s, 360 calories in the mid-1990s, and 470 calories in the latest survey. The average child consumed roughly 240 calories from snacks in the mid-1970s, 420 calories in the mid-1990s, and 500 calories in the latest survey.
What to do: What those snacks. They're not necessarily harmful, but they can boost your total daily calories. And surveys like these usually underestimate how much food people eat. Also watch out for beverages. They contribute to 420 calories a day to the average adult's diet, up from 290 calories in the 1970s.
"Does hunger and satiety drive eating anymore?" ask the study's authors. Good questions.
This is a good article. I will start watching my snack intake from now on. I have heard that pretzels are a healthy choice as a snack, but then also heard they do not have much nutritional value. Does anyone know anything about this?
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