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We are often told not to eat between meals, and there is a common perception that snacking is unhealthy. But, as usual when it comes to food, temptation always dominates.
Snacking is very common, and increasingly common. In the early 1970s, for example, American adults consumed about 18 percent of their total calories in the form of snacks. In 2010, that happened increased to 23 percent. Similar numbers were also recorded in the UK, Brazil And Norway.
This article is part of a nutrition series exploring some of today's hottest trends. Read more here.
Considering how common snacking is, it would be nice to know whether the received wisdom is correct. However, research on the effects of snacking on health has produced results. Several studies found that, as expected, Snacking has a negative impact on health. But others have found the opposite.
To get a clearer picture, earlier this year, Sarah Berry at King's College London, who is also chief scientist at nutrition app Zoe, and his colleagues, reanalyzed data they came together as part of an experiment conducted in 2018 and 2019, in which about 850 participants recorded everything they ate and when they ate it for two to four days. They were also tested on various measures of cardiovascular health, such as blood fat and glucose levels.