How many snacks a day?

[mom31257]

I saw this article about snacking making kids obese.

 

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100302/hl_nm/us_obesity_children_usa

 

How many snacks a day do your kids eat? I do believe that the choice of snack would make a huge difference in the obesity factor.

[Pamela H in Texas]

1-3 depending. Usually? 2? It was planned that way for years. Now, not so much.

 

Part of it is what we eat. When you're eating almost only raw veggies and fruits, you're going to digest it more easily. Also, it's pretty low calorie. So it takes more TIMES of eating. Of course, eating more often is good for your metabolism on top of the benefits of eating healthy in the first place.

 

ETA: okay, read the article. This just doesn't pertain to us. We're not eating "normally" (thankfully) for either the meals or snacks. Of course, if kids are eating less healthy meals AND 3 snacks (often of junk) daily, they are going to get too many calories (as well as other things).

 

JMO based on research: Of course people are overeating. Their bodies are craving necessary nutrients so their bodies beg. Then people eat more of the same rather than those nutrients. So people are craving more food, often to the degree of overeating. All because they won't eat enough of the food God gave us.

Edited March 2, 2010 by 2J5M9K

[JudoMom]

1, at 3:00. Breakfast around 8, lunch around noon, snack at 3, then dinner about 7.

[kokotg]

oh, goodness...a million? I've got three giant boys, and some days they seem to eat pretty much constantly. As far as I can see, all the study does is show that kids snack an average of three times a day. It doesn't actually say in that article that kids snack MORE now than before, and it merely suggests the possibility that snacking is linked to obesity; it doesn't offer any sort of evidence for this. Isn't grazing throughout the day actually the standard way of eating for a lot of cultures? I could be wrong (I will soon google!) but it seems to me that three large meals a day is a cultural construct rather than a biological one. I don't see why it makes a difference WHEN kids are consuming their calories--just how many they're consuming and what kinds of food they're getting them from. My kids eat healthy snacks (well, mostly), and they're all at healthy weights. As someone who's prone to blood sugar issues if I go more than a few hours without eating, small, healthy snacks throughout the day makes more sense to me than long periods with no food.

[Angel]

I voted "it varies." They definitely snack after lunch and always have at least one snack after dinner. They are definitely snackers. My older dd doesn't eat a lot, so we encourage the snacking. Some days are healthier than others. I guess that's one of the things that doesn't really hit my mommy radar. Well, unless they have a specific sweet tooth day and I look around and they are on their third dessert, then I tell them to cut it out ;)

[myfunnybunch]

It varies. They eat snacks if they get hungry between meals. Some days often, many days not at all. Once in a while we'll have hot chocolate together, or make cookies, but those kinds of snacks are served less than once a week.

 

I agree with the previous posters. It's more about what they're eating than how much or when. My kids can snack any time on fruit (apples or bananas, usually), carrots, dried fruit, a piece of wheat bread or string cheese. Not the high-sugar, high-fat, high-sodium HFCS snacks served to so many kids these days.

 

Cat

[Krista in LA]

Well my skinny little guy snacks pretty much constantly. I do try to make sure that he eats healthy stuff, but he gets some not so healthy things too. If he was overweight, I would probably monitor it more, but perhaps I should eat more like he does.

[MamaAkins]

We usually eat 2 snacks per day, plus 3 meals and an occasional dessert. We eat breakfast at 7:30am; snack around 10-10:30 (usually fruit or crackers or nuts); lunch around noon-12:30; snack around 3-4pm (depending on when we finish school). The afternoon snack is usually granola bar, popcorn, nuts, cheese, or something along those lines. Dinner varies depending on what activities we have, but it's usually around 6:30 or so.

[kpupg]

How many snacks a day do your kids eat?

 

We just don't snack. If someone is hungry, they can have a cheese stick or a yogurt or a banana or some chips/pretzels (if we happen to have them in the house), but we don't have snack time or a snacking habit -- outside of mealtimes, it's strictly hunger driven.

[kokotg]

We just don't snack. If someone is hungry, they can have a cheese stick or a yogurt or a banana or some chips/pretzels (if we happen to have them in the house), but we don't have snack time or a snacking habit -- outside of mealtimes, it's strictly hunger driven.

 

But I would call that snacking. Maybe we need to define our terms first :)

[Suzanne in ABQ]

My kids have access to healthy snacks whenever they want them. I really don't pay attention to when or how much the snack.

 

They are also very lean. My 13yodd currently eats about 5 full meals a day. She's growing like a weed, and goes around in shorts all winter long, and just burns a lot of energy. She's almost 5'7'', and only weighs 95 lbs.

 

My 12yods nibbles all day long. He's also very lean, only in about the 5th percentile his entire life. If I didn't let him snack, he'd whither up and float away! :)

 

4yodd eats good meals, but still has about 2-3 snacks between those meals sometimes. She's not as skinny as the others, but she's very far from obese. Her eating is hunger driven as well. Sometimes she just doesn't feel hungry, and hardly eats anything for a week. Then, she'll get in a growth spurt, and eat continually for 3 days.

 

It just depends.

[Ravin]

My kid eats like a Hobbit some days. Today, let's see...she had cereal for breakfast, and probably some kind of second breakfast, maybe two (I was napping), likely involving lunch meat in one of those snacks (low-fat turkey), and since we're out of bagels either more cereal or cheese or whole wheat toast for the other. Then lunch (DH fixed so probably reasonably healthy), which really isn't much bigger than many of her snacks, then she had cheese and crackers and a bite of my turkey and swiss panini on whole wheat for afternoon tea. Dinner she'll be getting leftover pizza from Cheesecake Factory (a rare treat for us, eating out), and she'll probably have a couple of cookies, a small scoop of ice cream, or some Scooby fruit snacks for dessert, then a piece of cheese or lunchmeat before bed. She also drinks a lot of whole milk, and water, sometimes a bit of coffee with milk or chocolate milk or hot chocolate made with Ovaltine. Usually she only gets soda when we eat out, and not always then. She occasionally (1-2 times a week, max) has juice.

 

She's 6 1/2 and weighs all of 38 lbs. (she's in the 5th percentile on the charts, which is up from where she used to be, below the bottom line!). Somehow, I'm not worried about her snacking herself into obesity. Most of her snacks are healthy (we're a bit short on veggies right now, payday is Thursday).

 

Based on what I see people buy at work, and see them feeding their kids, DD eats comparatively VERY healthily, though I know it could be better.

[Mrs Mungo]

I saw this article about snacking making kids obese.

 

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100302/hl_nm/us_obesity_children_usa

 

How many snacks a day do your kids eat? I do believe that the choice of snack would make a huge difference in the obesity factor.

 

At least two, sometimes more. However, I have tiny, skinny, extremely active kids.

[abbeyej]

...If someone is hungry, they can have a cheese stick or a yogurt or a banana or some chips/pretzels... ...outside of mealtimes, it's strictly hunger driven.

 

But that's *exactly* how I would have defined "snacks".

[Peela]

I said 4+.

My son can easily munch through 10 pieces of fruit in a day. He just loves fruit and i have decided to just keep buying it for him as I can't see any problem with eating a lot of fruit as a form of energy for a growing teenager. He might also eat several other snacks like some corn chips, a juice icypole, some nuts. He snacks a lot.

Dd15 doesn't snack much though- maybe once or twice a day she will have a piece of fruit or a cup of coffee.

Both are healthy and of good weight. Of course snacking is related to obesity since the standard of snacks is so low. When nutrition levels are low, the body craves more food to try and get enough nutrients, and overeats. If the kids were given high nutrition foods, chances are the unhealthy snacking would drop off and so woudl the weight. It's all about the quality of food.

[Mrs Mungo]

We just don't snack. If someone is hungry, they can have a cheese stick or a yogurt or a banana or some chips/pretzels (if we happen to have them in the house), but we don't have snack time or a snacking habit -- outside of mealtimes, it's strictly hunger driven.

 

How are these not snacks? These are the types of things we have in our house as snacks. :confused:

 

My definition of a snack is any food that is eaten outside of breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Edited March 3, 2010 by Mrs Mungo

[The Governess]

We usually have two snacks a day. I get hungry between meals so it makes sense that my kids would, too. My 3 yo is a very slow eater and for her to eat enough in her three meals to not be hungry between she would be at the table for 1.5 hours each time. :lol:

 

Snacks in our house are usually a piece of fruit, yogurt, a piece of cheese, some nuts, maybe a snack bar (but I buy the "baby" sized ones that are only 60 calories). If they have finished their meal and are hungry again later, they get a snack. If they didn't finish their meal, I'll usually save it, and *that* will be their snack. :D

[newlifemom]

I put it varies, [due to pms] but then I realized you were talking about children. ;)

[Daisy]

Probably about 2 snacks a day.

 

But the only snacks we allow are fruits and veggies and water.

 

My kids eat breakfast around 6am. Have a snack at 10am. Lunch around 1pm. Maybe another snack around 3:30pm and dinner at 6pm.

[abbeyej]

It varies. If the kids are hungry, they can have fruit or a piece of cheese, or carrots and hummus, that type of thing. Sometimes dd will say she's hungry, then, when faced with her options, decide she just wasn't as hungry as she thought, lol. I think if donuts were one of the options, she'd never miss a snack opportunity. ;)

[Carrie12345]

It varies, depending on how big/healthy the day's meals are, what the snack offerings are at the time (in relation to the menu) how active the kids are, and whether or not they ask for a snack.

 

At least one, usually two, occasionally more.

[LibraryLover]

junk food and no movement makes kids fat. Good food and movement doesn't. My kids eat about every 2-3 hours So 7 am 10am lunch at about 1 something around 4 and then dinner around 6.

 

Our snacks are fruits, veggies, yogurts, seeds, nuts, hard boiled eggs, Odwalla bars or organic cliff bars if we are on the road, whole wheat bread with nut butter etc.

 

I don't really buy junk. I can't say never, because some things I call junk organics-- Smart food or tortilla chips are bought at times--which are not mangos or green smoothies. ;)

 

I buy what I buy and I make what i make and I do not monitor.

Edited March 3, 2010 by LibraryLover

[Wendy Inman]

In our family we do the 5-6 small meals a day... so yeah i guess you could call that snacking :) So DS usually has 3 snacks which are usually a healthy bar in the morning, fruit w/nut butter or cheese in the afternoon, and a yogurt before bed.

[KidsHappen]

If I eat at all, it is usually light grazing throughout the day. I rarely eat a meal. There is actually some support for this being an effective weight control mechanism because eating burns calories to digest the food and if you eat smaller amounts more frequently your burn a larger proportion of the calories simply digesting the food. I, in no way, regulate my children's eating. They are allowed to eat or not whatever and whenever they want. Now I only cook certain things at certain times but they don't have to eat that if they don't want and can choose to make themselves something else or not eat if they want. I buy plenty of healthy fruits, veggies, yogurt and grains, plus proteins they will eat and they can eat any of that whenever they want. I am trying to teach them to pay attention to their bodies and eat when they are hungry and stop when they are full and also to eat what their body is craving instead of eating at some arbitrary time dictated by someone else and some food that someone else has decided they should eat. If you want chocolate, a pount of broccoli is not going to satisfy you. Better in my opinion to have a small seriving a chocolate first and then if you are still hungry eat what you feel like eating next. As a matter of fact, my personal motto is "Eat dessert first!" That way you don't eat a big meal and then eat the dessert anyhow. Now I maybe incredibly lucky because my children make healthy choices (they are vegetarians) and they are quite active so I don't have to worry so much. I know it is not a popular opinion but it seems to work for me and mine. ANd I personally think that a lot of the weight problems in America are caused by letting other people regulate your eating.

[ConnieB]

It's not the snacking that is making kids fat....it's the CHOICE of snacks.

 

I have a lot of healthy snacks ready to go in the fridge...and the kids are welcome to take it when they're hungry. No permission required....but the snacks available are all truly healthy.

 

Check labels of supposed healthy snacks, because most of them aren't as healthy as you'd think!. In fact....to be honest, if there is a label for you to check....it's probably not the best choice you can make anyway.

 

And, I know of where I speak.....I was one of those obese people, until I lost a lot of the weight because my choice was lose the weight and be healthy and around to homeschool my grandkids....or keep on the course I was on and very likely not even be around to graduate my own kids and never MEET my grandkids. My current weight loss is over 120 pounds....and ideally, I have about 20 more I'd like to lose, though admittedly I'm less motivated for that last 20 now because the change has been....well, life changing.

 

A lot of families spout off the "convenience" factor about snacking.....the packaging wins over healthier choices. Hogwash. How much work is there in having a crisper full of fresh fruit? Ok, cutting the veggies ahead of time so the kids can just grab and go does take about 5 minutes a day....but I do it while the kids are getting their school books ready, reading our daily quote and history tidbit out loud. Or while they're fixing breakfast, including mine. The fruit....grab it and go though. And, since the average family probably likes the apple over the asparagus....it's more likely something they'll eat. But slowly, you can change your, and your kids, likes.

 

If you don't have the twinkies and cookies and soda in the house, they won't eat them. And if they're truly hungry for a snack, they'll find something from the healthy foods you do have in the house. Grumbling and complaining burn calories, so I say let them go for it, lol. Eventually they'll see that their choice is take the healthy food, or leave it.

 

Even kids without weight problems need to be careful about the junk food they are eating....some kids (and adults) have a high metabolism or are active enough that they burn the calories from junk food....but ya know what.....try healthy foods for a month and see if you don't find that your body responds better to that good stuff then it does to that junk. It's amazing to watch the skinny kid realize how much better they feel when their body is fueled correctly, then when it's full of cloggy sugars, even when they aren't overweight. The grumbling from this kid was FIERCE because THEY didn't need to lose weight. In fact when our family underwent this dramatic change this child was actually technically underweight and hated it....worried that healthy would mean more weight loss and looking even more "skin and bones". In fact, this child gained weight....because her body was finally getting the nutrition it needed. She "filled out" but never has gotten overweight...still in the low end of the scale, but at least she's ON the scale now and no one makes rude comments about the boney-ness of her legs and arms. And the increase in her motivation and energy...well, lets just say sometimes Dad and I think we should give her some twinkies to slow her down, lol.

 

Oops, got on that high horse again...but articles like this make me nuts. It will NEVER be about how much or how many times a day we eat...it will always be about the food choices that we make. You cannot get fat (or stay fat) eating truly healthy foods (ok, unless you have a serious medical condition, which is a whole different problem and not a fair comparison). The problem is that manufacturers have done such a good marketing that people truly believe that some of this junk is healthy......because the packaging says so. And, no, I'm not taking about having to become vegetarian......our family stills eats plenty of meat, poultry and fish. But our trashcan has very very very little packaging in it. We don't even fill the smallest trash can that the city provides....and yet we have neighbors who fill the largest trash, the recycling bins, and usually have an extra 30gal bag plunked down beside all this on trash day. For us, it's not about "going green" though it's been pointed out that it's a nice side effect....it's about eating as naturally as possible. We took OUT cabinets in the kitchen that were supposed to be "pantry" and put in another refrigerator instead, lol.

 

Oops, high horse again....climbing down gingerly. Last word: read the nutrition labels not the packaging.

Edited March 3, 2010 by ConnieB

[EKS]

No snacks here.

 

When no snacks are provided, kids quickly learn to eat enough at meals. We've never done snacks, from the time they first started eating normal meals.