Snacking Adds 580 Calories Daily

CHICAGOEating snacks and drinking beverages outside of a regular meal accounts for more than 25 of Americans daily caloric intake, according to new research presented at the 2011 Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) Annual Meeting & Food Expo in New Orleans. The findings also reveal beverages account for 50 percent of the calories consumed through snacking.

Between 1977 and 2006, snacking in the American diet has grown to constitute "a full eating event," or a fourth meal, averaging about 580 calories each day, said Richard D. Mattes, Ph.D., professor of foods and nutrition at Purdue University.

Data also found the amount secondary eating doubled from 15 minutes each day in 2006 to nearly 30 minutes in 2008, and secondary drinking jumped nearly 90 percent from 45 to 85 minutes.

Researchers were quick to note that, in general, snacking is not necessarily linked with weight gain. In fact for young children and older adults foods consumed outside a meal are important sources of nutrients as well as energy.

Nancy Auestad, Ph.D., of the Dairy Research Institute, said a definitive definition of what constitutes a snack, as well as more information on what motivates individuals to snack is desperately needed to further assess the impact of snacking on the American diet and health.

Americans love of snacks isnt just adding to daily caloric intake, retail sales of packaged snacks rang up $64 billion in 2010, up from $56 billion in 2006, according to a Packaged Facts report. The market is predicted to reach $77 billion by 2015 fueled by reduced restaurant dining, busier lifestyles and rising health concerns.

Factors driving the snack sector including less frequent restaurant dining, hurried lifestyles that encourage on-the-go eating, a growing tendency to replace meals with several smaller snacks, and marketer efforts to combat the obesity epidemic by developing healthier snack foods that still taste appealing.