Key points:
- A study of nearly 1,000 people showed almost everyone snacks—but some do it differently.
- 26% of participants said they eat healthy main meals but unhealthy snacks.
- The most popular snacks were cookies, fruit, nuts and seeds, cheese and butter, cakes and pies and granola or cereal bars.
A quarter of people are undoing the benefits of healthy meals with unhealthy snacks, which increases the risk of strokes and cardiovascular disease.
In a new study published in European Journal of Nutrition, researchers from King’s College London detail the snacking habits of 854 people from the ZOE PREDICT study. They found that half of the participants do not match the healthiness of their meals to their snacks, and vice versa. This difference has a negative effect on health measures, such as blood sugar and fat levels, and addressing this could be a simple diet strategy to improve health.
According to the findings, the average daily snack intake in people who snack—95% of the cohort—was 2.28 snacks a day, with 47% of people eating two snacks a day and 29% of people eating more than two.
People who ate high-quality snacks like nuts and fresh fruits frequently were more likely to have a healthy weight compared with those who don’t snack at all or those who snack on unhealthy foods. Analysis also showed good quality snacks can also result in better metabolic health and decreased hunger.
However, a quarter (26%) of the participants reported eating healthy main meals and poor-quality snacks. Poor-quality snacks, such as highly processed food and sugary treats, were associated with poorer health markers and left people feeling hungry. Unhealthy snacks were linked with higher BMI, higher visceral fat mass and higher postprandial—the period after eating a meal—triglycerides concentrations, all of which are associated with metabolic disease such as stroke, cardiovascular disease and obesity.
The most popular snacks were cookies, fruit, nuts and seeds, cheese and butter, cakes and pies and granola or cereal bars. The greatest contribution to calorie intake were cakes and pies (14%), breakfast cereals (13%), ice cream and frozen dairy desserts (12%), donuts and pastries (12%), candy (11%), cookies and brownies (11%), nuts and seeds (11%).