Here is some frightening news. According to a new report by Datamonitor, snacking has become so commonplace in the United States that it is now a major source of nutrition for most Americans. No wonder there is so much acute and chronic illness and almost everyone dies from preventable lifestyle diseases due largely to poor dietary habits.
"Snacking is so ingrained in America’s eating habits that it has become a way of life rather than a trend", the report entitled Profiting from Changing Snacking and Beverage Occasions states.
According to Datamonitor, in a year, the typical US consumer eats 231 morning snacks, 283 afternoon snacks and 261 evening snacks. Children aged 6-13 consumed on average 840 snacks per year in 2005, which corresponds to over 2 snacks per day. Snacking frequencies peak for 14-24 year olds, who consumed 878 snacks in 2005. Little wonder then that childhood obesity is at an all time high.
It should be good news that another trend is towards a search for healthy snacks. The trouble is, there aren’t really many things sold as snacks that are genuinely healthy. They merely claim to be to cash in on the trend.
Part of the reason for this interest in healthier products is that people are increasingly substituting traditional meals with snacking as a result of the well-documented fast paced lifestyle of modern day consumers. In effect people have given up on high quality nutritious meals and substituted grazing on junk.
However, on a brighter note, the report does claim that 38 percent of US consumers made conscious attempts to improve their work-life balance over the past year, reflecting the fact that people are seeking to adjust their lifestyles.
Although Americans snack throughout the day, it is in the afternoon and evening when cravings tend to be higher, with 23 percent reporting they never snack in the morning, compared to 10 percent and 16 percent who claim to never snack in the afternoon and evening respectively.
If you really must top-up with calories then at least make them nutrient dense. Have a whole piece of fruit or a handful of nuts. Avoid all processed snack foods. Thousands of clueless nutritionists and dieticians may tell you they are ok, but they’d be wrong.