Snacking

Snacking does not have a concrete definition. A study taken by Katherine Chaplin and Andrew Smith from the journal Appetite says, “Participants defined snacking as food or drink eaten between main meals”.

A snack is a portion of food, smaller than a regular meal, generally eaten between meals.

As told in the textbook Nutrition: Concepts and Controversies by Frances Sienkiewicz Sizer and Ellie Whitney, sedentary men have a recommended daily calorie intake of about 2400 kcal. For sedentary women the intake is about 2000 kcal. The average calorie intake during a meal is about 500 kilocalories leaving a range of 300-800 kilocalories for snacks between meals. Overdoing this daily allowance can cause weight gain no matter whether the snack is healthy or unhealthy.

Snacking on foods that are low in energy density, high in nutrient density, and follow the five characteristics of healthy snacking increase satiation and satiety. Sustaining a high level of satiation and satiety helps keep one within the caloric discretionary allowance, and helps one maintain a healthy body weight.

There are five characteristics of healthy snacking: adequacy, balance, calorie control, moderation, and variety. Together, they work to build a nutritious diet.

A healthy snack leaves a feeling of both satiation and satiety.

Discretion should be used to determine whether one snack is a better choice than another based on nutrient density. The Dietary Reference Intake (DRI) establishes the amount of nutrients required daily to avoid deficiencies and allow the body to function properly. Knowing that one snack has more nutrients than another per calorie can help provide required nutrients without exceeding the discretionary calorie allowance. When analyzing the ratio of nutrients to calories in foods, the caloric level must be lower than the nutrient level in order for it to be nutrient dense. Otherwise, it could potentially cause a deficiency in an essential nutrient.

In contrast to nutrient density, energy density is the amount of calories per gram of food. For instance, snacking on two scoops (1 c.) of chocolate ice cream contains 287 calories per 132 grams making the energy density 2.17. As an alternative, one could have a snack containing celery (2 stalks), peanut butter (1 Tbsp), milk (1 c.), and an apple, which would contain similar calorie content (281 calories), but weigh 478 grams making the energy density .59. Other alternatives include salads, fruits, nuts, frozen yogurt, and cereal (1 c.) without milk. Especially when one's under pressure or frustrated, a low energy density is preferable because the food has a low ratio of calories to grams, allowing one to consume more food per calorie. Choosing a healthy snack with lower energy density will increase the amount of food one can ingest, and thus increase satiation and satiety levels, while increasing nutrient intake compared to chocolate ice cream.

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Wikipedia