Snack culture = unhealthiness?

[Jourdain11]

I watched the 1950s episode of Back in Time for Dinner on BBC last night and it was quite interesting that, while the young family members hated the food (which admittedly looked grim), they said that they realised that they didn't actually need to have snacks all the time.

I understand that there are a lot of considerations to take into account when "combatting the nation's obesity crisis", but I really wonder if a lot of the blame lies with snacks?

It seems weird to me that, from nursery onwards, we promote this culture of having constant snacks between meals. Healthy snacks, unhealthy snacks, "treat snacks"... much of which is just unnecessary eating. And also, some of the snacks have grown to the size of small meals!

In France, where I grew up, snacking between meals was not and is not really a thing. You are supposed to feel hungry for meals! The only "snack" we ever had as kids was an after-school snack, and that would be, for example, a piece of fruit, or a yoghurt, or a slice of bread and cheese.

To put it into context, the "3 meals, 3 snacks" model is used in ED recovery programmes, designed for aggressive weight gain, i.e. because it is actually dangerous for the person to remain at their current body weight. Yet it seems like quite a large proportion of the population are also following this model!

This isn't intended as a vilification of British eating habits (as I know this exists in many other cultures also) but it does make me wonder if we have collectively got into a warped mindset about healthy eating habits and hunger, and whether this may be a big contributor to the health crises we face in this country, which have made so many people more vulnerable to serious impact from Covid-19.

I find I eat less if I don't snack, as in I eat less calories. I eat breakfast circa 8am, lunch circa 1pm and dinner circa 7pm, only herbal tea in between, I'm not slim, but gradually loosing weight, 2-4lbs a month without dieting. I also cut out all sweet stuff except special occasions including most fruit

I agree OP. I think reducing / eliminating snacks (especially for adults) would be a great first step to combating the obesity crisis.

Or at least changing them into something else than crisps👀 I still don't get crisps as a part of a normal daily diet

Completely agree OP, the word snack is so overused it has become a "nails down the chalkboard" word for me.

I eat between meals (fruit/nuts) only when I'm training, most other times I don't even eat 3 x a day.

I ended up having to train my kids out of snacks when they were little because they just wouldn't eat meals otherwise. So now they go to school, eat lunch and come home so hungry they'll eat whatever I put in front of them. Doesn't work for all obviously but does for us.

I don't eat large meals because I don't like feeling full. Prior to working from home, I didn't eat breakfast, couldn't access food in the office easily so was starving at lunchtime. Now I'm at home and can eat when I want to, I find that I eat small amounts all morning, sometimes skip lunch if I don't need it and eat my main meal at 5pm. I suppose I snack all day, but I'm still eating the same amount of food. It's the one aspect of working from home that I really like.

I personally have to eat about every three hours as I get hungry and irritable otherwise. I have something like a slice of toast or a savoury muffin with some tea mid-morning and mid-afternoon, and maybe a piece of fruit and/or some crisps or chocolate; I also eat a decent breakfast, a sandwich or something on toast for lunch and a 'proper' sized dinner (as opposed to eating little and often throughout the day, which makes me feel kind of permanently hungry but also permanently a bit unwell).

I'm 5 foot 10 and about 9 stone, and not massively active, so no, snacking/eating frequently is not always going to cause obesity.

Having said that, I do think it's odd that parents seem to have a huge supply of snacks on hand for their kids and hand them over at the first sign of a child crying/fussing/tantrumming.

@Bluewavescrashing yeah I know someone who I suspect is afraid of being hungry. She‘ll eat a huge breakfast and then 2.5 hours later it’s time for lunch.

She’s very overweight. A bit of hunger never killed anyone. I personally like feeling hungry as the act of eating is then more satisfying.

Yanbu

There has been a sea change but it's all pervasive and we hardly notice it.

Advice to people wanting to lose weight became to eat "healthy" meals and snacks often to keep your metabolism going and prevent the hunger driving you to "bad" snacks.

Never skip breakfast is another accepted wisdom now.

I'm not being obtuse. It's like saying that you don't do cycling but that you travel to work on a two wheeled pedal driven framed vehicle.

Regardless I just saw the OP's name. I hope that things are going a little easier on you Jourdain11 .

Anyway, back to the debate.

Ffs yes the past was so much better as is France. Is this what you want from your post? perhaps rather than have all these smug people like you chip in with there opinions on why we (&lots of the world) have an obesity issue we could talk to obese people and form policies and interventions which are led by experience. But I guess in the meantime we'll have people like you popping up on the regular telling everyone why you think they're so fat. So insightful.

yes, i see it so much in budgeting groups on facebook people showing off boxes of snacks they fill so their kids can eat what they like throughout the day between meals! my kids get 3 meals a day if they do have a snack which is not very often only fruit and veg is offered ( i find this a good indication of if they are actually hungry as well, because if refused i know they're just asking for the sake of it)

I agree with you OP, when I moved to England, I was shocked about the amount and type of snacks that people would eat. Coming from a 3 meals a day culture where snacks are only given as a pick me up (after swimming for example) or special treat!
Children are conditioned early on to have snacks ... It's really just a very clever piece of marketing. A prime example is the mandatory crisps with your sandwich...

A prime example is the mandatory crisps with your sandwich...

I have to say that I've never understood why cafes put crisps/tortilla chips on the plate with your sandwiches or wrap. It seems terribly random. Salad I get but not crisps, though I do enjoy them occasionally.

I've also realised recently how much of a difference it makes - both in terms of diet and money - not being in an office. There isn't a constant stream of birthday cakes, return-from-holiday sweets and we-over-catered-for-a-meeting leftover sandwiches, for a start. But I used to take so much food to work with me to avoid the temptation of going to the shop if I was hungry. Now, on the rare occasion I get properly hungry mid-morning or mid-afternoon (rather than "I'm bored, I'll eat something") I might wander into the kitchen and have a handful of nuts or a plum, but the difference is that I only eat because I really want or need to, rather than out of boredom because it's there.

Different people are different. People's bodies, metobolisims and lifestyles call for different eating habits.

If you do a physical job, you're probably going to need 4 meals plus snacks. If you sit at a desk all day 2 meals and maybe one snack is enough.

Some people are better with lots of small meals, some are better with just a big meal at the end of the day.

There is no one size fits all diet. The key is to eat when you're hungry, only eat what you need to stop being hungry - don't stuff yourself silly, and make sensible food choices with treats in moderation.

I tend to agree with you OP.

I agree you are meant to feel hungry for a meal. My mum says ' hunger is the best sauce' and I notice then when my kids are hungry to meals they wolf down a much wider variety of food and are prepared to try stuff more.

I call it "graze culture".

And could you be more pedantic @AllPlayedOut and @hula008 ? Did you just want to close down the discussion? 🙄
Isn't the after school snack for French kids called Le Gouter and much more formalised than here OP ? and not just diving into the nic us when ever you want?

Intuitive eating seems to be a better model to follow –eat when you're hungry, rather than prescriptively, which I suspect most people do. Eating issues tended to be tied up with emotions rather than a propensity for snacking –snacking is an effect, not a cause. The food industry has done a cracking job of linking food to reward, and that seems like a hard link to break.

Ooh @sunglassesonthetable I love that, hunger IS the best sauce!

YANBU at all!!!

nic us / biccy tin

Don't make the mistake of comparing France 30 years ago with the UK today. I'm 40 and the only time we had a snack growing up was something after school, much like you describe.

@sunglassesonthetable I wasn't aware that I required your permission to speak. You should have told me sooner.

TOTALLY agree. When does your body get chance to burn fat if its constantly constantly digesting the last meal or snack? And that we now associate anything other than not feeling full as 'hungry'. We don't even need 3 meals a day unless very active. I do think we've all become conditioned to be afraid of hunger. You'll get very defensive responses to this idea though op. I don't know why people get so angry about it.

I think you have to actively prepare to go against this graze and reward culture too. It has become ingrained and if you are the parent that says no to the heavily promoted doughnuts in the shop next to school you are the odd one.

course you don't 🙄

you crack on doing your thing and likewise we get to comment