To think people (especially children) don’t need to be eating constantly?

[constantlyeating]

NC because I am going to get flamed for this.

I’m wondering whether this is why we have an obesity crisis. We are all constantly snacking!

For children it seems to have become: breakfast, morning break snack, school lunch, snack on the way back from school, dinner and then another something before bed— if not more often.

Does anyone have just 3 meals a day anymore? What ever happened to food only being eaten at the table?

I think it also has a lot to do with whether the children are occupied or not. Before DC reached teens they were very much stuck in routine of school and clubs (ft working).
So breakfast at home / lunch at school/ snack at clubs/ evening meal. If we were travelling anywhere I always made sandwiches drink fruit etc, because I didn't want to buy fast food from shops.

As they grow and develop their own interests and activities - they think less
About snacking. DS weighs 5kg less than he did last year - due to travel to
and from School on his own as well as daily sports and activities inside and outside of school. I think he just has Less time to think about snacking and the odd occasion he is
hungry he has been able to wait til the next meal. Being a little hungry Also means he is more likely to eat all his food at meal times!

Ds 7 eats little and often which I don't think there's anything wrong with tbh.

@HailAdrian

Where are all these fat kids though because I rarely see them?

I can see them - and they are not all In the North East! I think probably More primary age than secondary though.

I eat 2 times a day, but my kids eat 5 times - 3 meals + 2 snacks. Snacks are usually fruit, sometimes with a bit of cheese. But their tummies are much smaller than mine and I think I need to space food apart if I want to get thier 5 a day in. Also they don’t have coffee

I agree with PP that A morning snack and afternoon snack can comfortably be part of a healthy balanced diet (I would think most fruit is consumed as a snack for example).

My child is always eating but she's super active and obviously needs it

We stopped giving DD snacks between meals when she was about 2. She's healthy, has ridiculous amounts of energy & is a good weight for her height. She's also quite tall & we had thought she might be about to hit puberty because she absolutely grew like a weed last year but apparently not. She does usually eat a fair bit at mealtimes but stops when full, regardless of whether dessert, chocolate etc are available. There's a bar of her favourite chocolate on the shelf next to her chair from her Christmas stocking. Unopened.

I'm slightly overweight but losing it steadily, I've lost about 2st this year, I'm only 2lb over a normal BMI now. I don't snack between meals & I don't count calories. DH is significantly overweight & snacks regularly but often misses meals. He has a dreadful diet TBH but I've stopped trying to intervene as he doesn't welcome it, he's an adult & entitled to make his own decisions.

Humans are not the same as cows, sheep etc. We don't need to graze constantly. Ironically I'm vegan, so if any of our family "should" be snacking regularly it would be me!

@HailAdrian

Where are all these fat kids though because I rarely see them?

I think perception can be part of the problem. In that people can no longer recognise overweight children. Generally speaking those kids you see as ‘skinny’ or ‘small’ or ‘short’ are the ones at a normal weight. Obesity in babies / toddlers (when their parents aren’t particularly tall) often begins with them being taller or a bit chunkier than normal because obesity ‘front loads’ height growth, then you will see them gain weight rapidly, and then they’ll reach puberty sooner, and level off at a shorter height centile that they might have been predicted when they were younger.

I work in childcare and it’s a pattern we are being encouraged to spot it early and try and highlight it to parents & many parents refuse to engage because they don’t see it. Then by the time they reach school age the weight piles on and by then it becomes very, very difficult to reduce it.

You are right. It’s good for your digestion and immune system to have a break, as well as your Pancreas and teeth! That said, my children have 3 meals plus 2 snacks most days because they always have (before I was educated!). I tend to have 3 meals plus 1 snack because I do get hungry mid afternoon.

My teenager will not eat breakfast. Has always been a struggle even when she was little, so now I just don’t force it. She has lunch at school (or if she buys a snack at break it’s quite substantial so she doesn’t then have lunch).

If she’s not had lunch, she’ll have a snack after school and then we all eat our main meal together in the evening, which she eats followed by fruit and some kind of dessert usually.

I’m fine with this.

My 8 year old has breakfast, fruit for morning break at school, a packed lunch at school, one small snack after school, dinner as above.

They don’t graze on crap all day/after school. In the holidays they do eat more snacks and I do have to monitor this a bit.

My older one has a debit card I can see her spending on, and there is the odd milkshake or whatever, but considering she has pretty free rein over her money, I’m impressed she doesn’t buy more junk.

I never snack, I have just got out of the habit and like feeling hungry before my meal. My children do as they really don't eat very much at their meals, especially my daughter. She feels full very quickly but then wants something later. It might be wrong but I would say she under eats if anything.

This again? Try harder to be a goady fuck op.

@ChateauxNeufDePoop

A morning snack and afternoon snack can comfortably be part of a healthy balanced diet (I would think most fruit is consumed as a snack for example). I always lean the other way and think it's the meals that people have lost sight of when it comes to healthy and balanced. Unhealthier breakfasts, calorific shop bought sandwiches, a lack of awareness around the plate make up and portion control for main meals and convenient food being too regular. Also people consuming more liquid calories that aren't filling than they realise.

This.

I used to eat 3 large unhealthy meals a day and I was obese.

I now eat at least 5 times a day, but all healthy, carefully planned portions and times around my training schedule. I'm 4 stone lighter, have never been fitter or healthier and only yesterday was told I look younger than I did 10 years ago.

It's not how often people eat FFS it's the quantity of shite, poor portion control and lack of decent exercise!

@spartanthehorse

I never snack, I have just got out of the habit and like feeling hungry before my meal. My children do as they really don't eat very much at their meals, especially my daughter. She feels full very quickly but then wants something later. It might be wrong but I would say she under eats if anything.

Here is a star for you well done for being so superior

@constantlyeating

NC because I am going to get flamed for this.

I’m wondering whether this is why we have an obesity crisis. We are all constantly snacking!

For children it seems to have become: breakfast, morning break snack, school lunch, snack on the way back from school, dinner and then another something before bed— if not more often.

Does anyone have just 3 meals a day anymore? What ever happened to food only being eaten at the table?

I totally agree. This snack culture with children is just ridiculous. They really do not need to eat that often!

I remember being at an aquarium trying to look at some beautiful sharks and a mums day out had plonked all their lids on the floor in front of the tanks because it was 10am and "snack time". Nobody wants to smell tuna sandwiches and half sucked quavers in a bloody Aquarium.

Even the word snack makes me want to bludgeon someone 😂

Generally speaking those kids you see as ‘skinny’ or ‘small’ or ‘short’ are the ones at a normal weight.

and this with bells on!! All his life people have made comments to me about how skinny DS was compared to other kids. He has ALWAYS been right smack in the middle of the healthy weight range for his age and height!

@HailAdrian

Where are all these fat kids though because I rarely see them?

It's not an even distribution. Areas with deprivation tend to have higher rates (accessibility of fresh food, resources for cooking, access to outdoor space and sports facilitues)

But as the BMI of children has gone up, we are used to seeing a heavier, chunky look. Many children retain the cute "chubby" toddler lookand by-pass the phase of stretching out and getting lean and ribby before puberty adds more mass again. Children of the lower part of the healthy range often look "thin" because a broader, heavier look is more normal. Ribs are healthy, not thin. For children to look "overweight" in the way we expect in adults, theywill be more overweight than we realise.

It might be that you're in an area of fewer "fat kids" or it might be that they blend in as normal.

neonplant 😂 thank you! I wasn't expecting that. To be honest, I'm out of the habit as currently wearing a retainer which hurts to get on and off. I thought I would be criticised for my snacking children so am grateful for the star! If it makes you feel better I eat a lot at mealtimes.

I agree to an extent.

With my eldest I send snacks in to school because they ask us to but I don't offer snacks at home on the weekend. No one asks for them either.

My youngest has a small appetite and is quite little for their age and I find they are more "little and often" when it comes to eating. I'd rather they just ate 3 meals a day but I just don't think their stomach works that way so I try to be fairly flexible but just make sure that I don't offer anything "exciting" as a snack. It's usually fruit or veg or oatcakes/crackers.

You're right. I've lost some weight recently by not snacking and having smaller portions (our family have always eaten a lot I think - DC still do). It's made me realise I believed I needed a mid-morning/mid-afternoon snack. As a menopausal woman in her mid 50s I don't. If the urge is strong I have a cuppa. Not the same but my habits are gradually changing!

This again? Try harder to be a goady fuck op.

Why is questioning the need to snack goady? Everyone else on the thread seems to be discussing it in a civilised way, whether they agree with the OP or not. There's nothing goady about discussing how eating habits have changed over time and about which changes have contributed to growing obesity levels imo.

I very rarely eat breakfast (just 2 back to back strong coffees and an Actimel shot) so always have a good 12-14 hour fasting window which I believe is really beneficial to your system.

I grew up in the 60s and we all had 3 meals a day. Possibly a hot drink before bed, but no snacks. Ever.
I've kept this up, mostly, all my life. I like to be properly, stomach hurting hungry at a meal time. If I meet friends for coffee I never have the cake.

The exceptions are, in an evening I'll have a snack if I have wine or tea because it won't ruin a meal.
Also if I am ill and have list weight through lack of appetite I might snack.

I weigh the same at 63 as I did at 23.

I do 16:8 so I only eat twice a day, max. Sometimes once a day.

My DC are similar tbh - DS1&2 point blank refuse to eat breakfast as DS1 doesn't like breakfast food and DS2 feels sick in the morning as he is a night owl. DD eats 3 square meals but the portions are tiny. Poverty means there have been no snacks. Which makes me feel a very shit parent but I just didn't have the budget. We are now a 70K a year household after a major life change in 2019. We still can't get used to not worrying about food scarcity! I can't get used to filling the fridge/cupboards at all.

@Neonplant

This again? Try harder to be a goady fuck op.

That was my initial reaction too. I seem to read this thread once every month. Well, either snacking or drinking water (why oh why can't people walk around without slurping on water bottles etc etc).

Having a snack in the mid morning and after school long predates the obesity rates being high.