“Dinner’s in half an hour,” I told my 14-year-old daughter as she stood with the refrigerator door open, scoping out a snack.
“I know,” she mumbled, closing the refrigerator. She then rifled through the cupboard, her upper lip curled at the lack of satisfactory snacking material in the fridge. Then suddenly her eyes gleamed as she discovered the box of shortbread cookies I’d hidden at the back of the shelf.
“No,” I said, waving a sauce-covered spoon in her direction. “If you can’t wait, then find something healthier. There’s plenty of fruit and cheese in the fridge.” She rolled her eyes in disgust, grabbed an apple, and walked out in a huff, clearly displeased with the paltry range of allowed pre-dinner snacks.
Snacking has become almost second nature for most of us. We’ve become a nation of grazers, relying on a steady stream of food, all day long. A March 2010 study published in the journal Health Affairs looked at the food intake of 31,337 children and adolescents ranging in age from 2 to 18 and found that 98% of children in 2003-06 were daily snackers. That’s a 24% increase over the numbers from 1977-78. And it’s not just the number of snackers that have increased, it’s how much they’re eating. Researchers saw an increase in the size of the snacks (around 50-76 grams per snack—about 1 ¾ - 2 ¾ ounces—depending on the age group) and in the number of extra calories from all those snacks—about 168 more for kids in 2006 than for kids in 1977. (See related: One in five children has risk factors for heart disease.)
What are they snacking on? My daughter’s preferences were a good indication. The study found an increase in how much candy and salty snacks kids were eating, with a decrease in the amount of fruit. They also were drinking more fruit drinks, sports drinks, and fruit juices. And, no surprise, desserts were a typical type of snack.
There are different schools of thought on snacking. Since most children eat smaller amounts at meals than adults, they may need to refuel more often. But the conclusion drawn from the recent snacking study was that children seem to be moving toward a “3+3” type of eating system—meaning, three meals plus three snacks—each day. Even with smaller appetites, I wonder if that kind of steady stream of (usually) high-calorie food gives most kids time even to feel hungry before they chow down again. If they’re not eating because they’re hungry, why are they eating at all? Out of boredom? Because a teacher says it’s snack time? Or is it simply because the vending machine is there?
As a teenager, it’s almost mandatory that my daughter sneer at anything I ask her to do—such as cutting back on snacks a bit, in this case. She’s going to snack no matter what, especially since, as the data says, I would be fighting against a societal snacking trend. But I also know that if I make the healthy snacks easier to reach, then maybe she’ll reach for those. Maybe, by keeping an ample supply of fruit and baby carrots around, and slicing some low-fat cheese into grab-able portions, while keeping the cookies and chips scarce, she’ll be more likely to snack on something healthier–at least when she’s home. And just maybe she’ll take some of those habits with her away from home, reaching for the apple instead of the bag of chips when presented with the option.
—Erin Gudeux, senior project leader, sensory department
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