The Science of Snacking: Controlling your Cravings

How we eat is just as important as what we eat. Snacking is one of the most common ways we eat and is a leading indicator of obesity.

Eating on the go is typical for many Americans. We just live busier and more productive lives in which our meals are sporadically taken in-between taking kids to their soccer games and driving into work.

According to the Institute of Grocery Distribution, Britain’s leading experts in the food and grocery industry, there are many motives behind snacking besides our busy lives, most of them of an emotional nature: hunger, meal substitutes, dieting, rewards and treats, boredom, relaxation, and addressing negative emotions.

Our modern busy lifestyles have a direct impact on our eating behaviors, as nearly one quarter of people snack to replace other meals such as breakfast, lunch, and dinner; our lifestyles also play a role in how we see food when addressing our negative emotions.

A 2006 IGD study found that half of people shopping for snacks do so because they are hungry; 23 percent because they missed a meal; 25 percent because they want a treat; and 22 percent because they are bored.

These are the emotional behaviors, but what is it that produces these behaviors in the first place?

Over a course of years, a gradual shift has been seen in the family that replaced traditional meal times to our snacking behavior due to an increase in single person households, an increase in the number of women in work, and an increasingly busy job schedule.

Obesity is often the result of snacking especially among children. A 2010 U.S. study by researchers of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill found that high-calorie snacks, including chips and candy, made up 27 percent of the daily caloric intake of children ages two to 18.

Studying federal nutrition reports from more than 31,000 children from 1977 to 2006, researchers concluded that childhood snacking was on the rise moving toward three snacks per day. They found the largest increases in salty snacks and candy, with desserts and sweetened beverages the major sources of calories from snacks.

Today’s child consumes food almost continuously throughout the day, the report suggested, increasing calories from 168 per day in 1977 to a total of 586 calories. This correlates to an increased threat of children developing diabetes, heart disease, and hypertension.

There is a simple solution for preventing obesity in adults and children; start by eating healthy.

Eating plenty of fruits and vegetables and limiting foods high in fat and sugar can substantially reduce the obesity epidemic at home and world-wide.

Above all else, slow down! Preparing healthier foods at family meals is important to your emotional and physical well-being. And grandma’s meals can be relived again if you make that choice. Mmm, now that is really living.