Too Much Snacking

There’s been a lot of attention over the past few years to the growing obesity epidemic in the United States, and to the fact that it’s affecting children. Childhood obesity is up to about 16 percent, a 10 percent increase just since 2003, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.

A recent study as reported in the L.A. Times found that kids are snacking to the tune of about 170 additional calories a day, enough to equal 1,176 calories a week, which could amount to as much as 13 1/2 pounds of body fat a year.

According to the L.A. Times:

Dr. Judy Palfrey, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said the study’s findings pointed to one of many factors that had pushed the nation’s rate of child obesity up.

“We see milk intake and meal intake are going down; the consumption of fatty and salty foods is going up. Everybody is very busy, on the go all the time, not having three meals at home,” Palfrey said. American families need to “think about healthier replacements” for between-meals food, she says, and they need to hear those messages from their children’s physicians.

“Remember the days when we used to get quartered oranges? Bring those back!” Palfrey added.

In 1977, just under 75% of kids between 2 and 18 consumed at least one snack between meals, according to the new study, which tallied the responses of 31,337 children and adolescents to four federally funded food surveys. In 2006, the proportion of kids who snack reached 98%.

That surge in snacking has pushed kids’ overall intake of daily calories to an average of 2,099 a day — up by 100 calories a day since 1977, the survey reports. By 2006, 27.3% of the total calories — just under 600 calories a day — came in the form of snacks, the North Carolina research team found.

Meanwhile, calories consumed at mealtimes have begun to slide slightly since the last food survey was conducted in 1994. The result: U.S. children are consuming more fatty, sugary and salty foods and less of the dairy, protein and produce that predominate at mealtime.

Sweet snacks such as cookies, cereal bars and cakes continue to supply the largest share of snacking calories, but the number of calories consumed in salty snacks such as popcorn, crackers and chips more than doubled from 1977 to 2006, the study found.

So what do we do to dial back the snacking?

I know in my house we rarely have chips, cookies or much other snack food around. We do sometimes have whole-grain goldfish crackers and rice cakes in the house, as well as air-popped popcorn so we can control the amount of butter and salt, adding instead garlic powder, chili powder, pepper or other spices depending on what we’re in the mood for.

As a result, if my 2 1/2-year-old wants a snack before dinner, he usually asks for grapes, bananas, clementines (clementimes, he says), bell peppers, other fruit, or yogurt.

This month is National Nutrition Month, sponsored by the American Dietetics Association, which means they have collected some information to help families and individuals make better food choices. You can find a great deal of information here.

Elisa Zied, a registered dietitian, offers these six tips for better snacking:

1) Choose wisely. Anticipate snacks ahead of time and be sure to include plenty of foods and beverages from the key food groups (fruits, veggies, whole grains, low fat dairy foods, and lean sources of protein including nuts, seeds, and nut butters) on your weekly grocery list and in your cart.

2) Find where the food (or beverage) fits. When choosing among processed and packaged foods, think about whether those foods come from any of the basic food groups. If they don’t fit neatly into any food group, chances are they won’t make the best snack choice and are more like desserts.

3) Be a portion teller. Keeping on hand small plastic cups and bowls and small plastic baggies can make it easy for you to pre-portion snacks and reduce the risk of overeating.

4) Be a selective snacker. When you’re out and about temptations may be tough to handle. The key is that when you have these foods, make sure to adjust how much you eat that day overall — even by a few bites — and limit items made with extra fat or sugar to keep your total daily calorie intake in check.

5) Keep tools on hand to help you end the eating. Whether it’s chewing gum, breath strips, strong mints, or mouth wash, having a few of these on hand can not only leave your mouth feeling fresh and minty, but can help you resist the urge to have “just one more bite,” mindlessly snack, and reduce your risk of eating when not hungry.

6) Snack when you’re sitting down. Try to make sitting when you eat (preferably at a table) a habit, whether you’re home or on the go. You may find you actually eat less AND feel more satisfied.

You can read her whole post here. Cutting back or choosing different snack foods can increase you and your famiy member’s intake of fruits, vegetables and whole grains with a little planning and preparation while helping to decrease the number of excess calories consumed each day.

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