UNC scientists find U.S. children snack more now than they did two d...( on and because obesity has been linked...)

on, and because obesity has been linked to adult-onset diabetes and various cardiovascular problems such as heart attacks and strokes later in life, the scientists wanted to learn whether U.S. children had changed their snacking habits over time. They also wanted to know how the changes might -- or might not -- contribute to the nationwide child obesity epidemic. Information they analyzed came from the 1977-78 Nationwide Food Consumption Survey and both the 1989-91 and 1994-96 Continuing Survey of Food Intake by Individuals.

"Back in the 1970s, some 80 percent of U.S. children snacked daily, and we found that now more than 90 percent do," Popkin said. "A more pronounced change, however, is that their total daily energy intake from snacks has risen from about 18 percent to about 25 percent. Whereas two decades ago they were taking in 450 kilocalories of energy in this way, now they're getting 600 kilocalories." Also, kilocalories per gram -- what nutritionists call "energy density" -- have risen significantly, from 1.35 to 1.54, the scientist said.

"What's important about that is that other researchers have found small increases in energy densities lead to a large increase in total energy," he said. "So not only are children -- and adults -- eating a lot more snacks, but we're also getting more calories because we're eating different kinds of foods that are more energy-dense. That's a bad sign and a clear indication that increased snacking contributes to the overweight increases in the United States."

Higher energy-dense foods do not correspondingly decrease appetites more than healthier foods do, Popkin said. Research his group and others have done showed significant increases in consumption of soft drinks, potato and corn chip and other kinds of salty snacks and simultaneous drops in fruit, vegetable and milk consumption.

"It's not that snacks are bad," he said. "In fact, for preschoolers and children age 10 and under they are very
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Contact: David Williamson
david_williamson@unc.edu
919-962-8596
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
5-Apr-2001

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