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What is a snack, why do we snack, and how can we choose better snacks? The Definitions of Snacking, Motivations to Snack, Contributions to Dietary Intake, and Recommendations for Improvement
Author(s) -
Hess Julie,
Jonnalagadda Satya,
Slavin Joanne
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.30.1_supplement.895.5
Subject(s) - snacking , environmental health , snack food , food choice , added sugar , medicine , healthy eating , consumption (sociology) , population , psychology , obesity , food science , physical activity , physical therapy , social science , chemistry , pathology , sociology
Around the world, adults are consuming energy outside of breakfast, lunch, and dinner. However, because there is no consistent definition of a “snack,” it is unclear how these extra eating occasions should be labeled. The labels attributed to eating occasions can influence the other food choices an individual makes on the same day and their satiety after consumption as well as data collection and interpretation. Therefore, clear distinctions between “meals” and “snacks” are important for health outcomes and conducting research about them. Current literature suggests that the definition of and motivation to eat between meals depends on external factors like the time of day, type of food, food availability, and location but that definitions and motivations also vary widely even within a single population. The health impact of “snacking” also seems to be subject to considerable inter individual variation. Despite the paucity of research on the topic, eating between meals already contributes significantly to the daily energy intake of adults and children in several countries, including Brazil, Mexico, Canada, the United States, Greece, and France. With the exception of fruit, the most popular foods consumed at these occasions, chips, desserts, and sugar‐sweetened beverages, are high in nutrients to limit. Therefore, the foods selected for “snack” are of public health concern. Yet few countries include snack recommendations in their dietary guidelines because there is little evidence about the healthfulness of eating frequently. Nutrient insufficiencies and excesses in different countries could be used to make recommendations for specific snack foods without recommending snacking as an eating occasion. The development of more health‐promoting snacks could be an important area for collaboration between food companies and nutrition scientists. Promoting “healthy” options for snack time could benefit overall dietary intake especially in areas where snacking, regardless of its definition, is already popular. Support or Funding Information This study was supported by research funding from Kerry, Beloit, WI.