Snacks are the cause of overweight people

neanderthin

When I was a child we never had ANY snacks in the house and children were not asked or allowed to bring snacks into school.
We were told to eat breakfast, lunch & dinner. Basically 3 meals a day! But no snacking between meals. I remember at school that there would be the odd fat child at school but that was it.

Now I've got children and snacking is promoted, I have seen that the schools are full of overweight kids. I think the old way was definitely more healthy. What do you guys think!

Basically that's called a logical fallacy.

maiaroman18

My daughter snacks on applesauce, peanut butter, fruit snacks, and carrots whenever she's hungry. She does ballet and gymnastics. She's outside running and playing on the swing set or riding on her bike almost every day. And she rarely watches tv.

She's 6 and you can see definition in her abs.

Snacks aren't evil; it's the lack of physical activity coupled with the less nutritional food that's being consumed that's the culprit nowadays.

fitplease

Um, no.

Healthy snacks are good for you. They help to keep insulin levels in check throughout the day.

Edit: Mom kept junk food out of the house when I was little. It helped to develop good snacking habits. I also played for hours outside. There was none of this once-a-week playdate stuff. I was a thin kid.

sunnyskys2013

Kids are fat now because people feed their kids way to much junk food. No one cooks meal at home anymore. My kids are home schooled and snack all the time, but they snack on fruits, veggies, peanut butter, cheese and stuff like that. I'm not saying they never have sweets, chips and other stuff, but its not an everyday thing. They also spend all their free time outside and none of them are overweight.

Also my oldest went to school for a couple years, when she started her first year she gain 8# the first two months from eating school lunches. The stuff they serve at school is high in cals, carbs, sugar, salt and bad fat. is very low in anything good I mean really how can they count fry's as a veggie.

MCLA4mom

I disagree. I went from eating 3 meals a day to 6 small ones (snacks) and that enabled me to lose 75lbs. My blood sugar was balanced and I has continuous energy and no cravings. Something to think about

slkehl

Snacks have actually helped me keep my weight down. If I'm not famished by the time dinner comes around, I eat a lot less.

GeorgieLove708

I didn't snack as a kid and I was overweight. I ate 1 meal a day as an adult and was obese. I currently eat 3 meals a day + 2 snacks a day and lose weight. It has to do with what you eat/drink and how active you are. If the only snacks your kids are getting are chocolate, chips, cookies, etc and they sit and watch tv/play video games all day, there's a problem, but snacks themselves are not the problem.

KaleidoscopeEyes1056

Well, I guess I should put away my blueberries because snacking on them is making me fat...

GeorgieLove708

My daughter snacks on applesauce, peanut butter, fruit snacks, and carrots whenever she's hungry. She does ballet and gymnastics. She's outside running and playing on the swing set or riding on her bike almost every day. And she rarely watches tv.

She's 6 and you can see definition in her abs.

Snacks aren't evil; it's the lack of physical activity coupled with the less nutritional food that's being consumed that's the culprit nowadays.

My daughter has ab (and bicep) definition as well. She's pretty proud of her muscles.

KateBarnhart85

... yeah it prolly has nothing to do with kids sitting in front of gaming consoles, computers, tvs, sleeping all day, instead of going out to play, riding bikes, taking walks, having family time. So snacking on carrots, raisins, nuts, or other healthy treats are going to make a child or adult fat? ... Now I agree if you ONLY meant that cakes, candies, cookies, chips, processed crap was all the kid snacked on all day everyday... and there is a difference between portions now too, kids eat MEAL sized snack portions instead of a small serving size .

majope

Portion size and inactivity. That's what did it for me.

A_Fit_Mom

I have kids as well and it is up to the parent to not have them bring cookies and junk as their snack to school.


Our school discourages it, but I am sure some still send it. Snacks are not the problem, kids can have healthy snacks. They have snack time in the afternoon, and I always send a healthy snack for him.

He is definitely one of the smallest at only 37 pounds for almost 6 years old. He is an active child and has always ate healthy. It all starts at home and making the right choices.

DancingDreams1234

I see where you are coming from, I do. However, kids tend to be pretty active, so I feel that snacking on fruit or a granola bar is acceptable.

XXXMinnieXXX

Not true... I've smacked every single day of my weight loss. It's the quality of what your eating snacks and meals, not the fact your eating snacks. Snacks actually help me to not get so hungry at meals that I eat unreasonable portions. Snacking is key to my weight loss. The problem is many people snack on crisps and chocolate all the time. I've just had some strawberries with a dollop of Greek yogurt. Healthy, nutritious and filled the gap between lunch and dinner.

Zara

Ohnoes

no. my kids are VERY active. they would crash and burn if they didnt eat every couple of hours. so much of their mood depends on hunger. as long as the snacks are healthy i think that kids should eat when they are hungry and learn to listen to their bodies. i allow unlimited fruits and veggies between meals, and heavier snacks if they seem like they need it. if a kid seems to be asking for a snack out of boredom, i offer an apple or a carrot... a hungry kid will take it, a bored kid will go play

elyelyse

the apple I grabbed as a snack didn't get me fat. my typical 1200 calorie meals were probably the culprit. probably also the way i used to order a whole pizza, wings, burger, onion rings and soda just for me that would be gone by the morning.

ziggiezambi

I think it also has to do with life style.
As a kid I ate like a horse and stayed slim but that was back before the internet was really big.
If I wanted to go see a friend we walked to see each other and a past time was playing outside with friends climbing trees, building forts, wrestling, riding bikes and having sword fights.
Now kids are more likely to go online to talk and socialize, and online gaming has taken over.
No more air soft wars outside in the woods building your on forts just turn on your Xbox or Ps3 and play some COD.

mistesh

So who eats healthy snacks? Would it be those who eat healthy meals that keep them fuller and for longer? These healthy people also know that it's not good insulin-wise to eat when you're not hungry. That makes no sense that they would snack. Maybe an apple in the mid-afternoon, no harm in that, but not much beyond it.

Oh sure, we all get a little stressed or bored at times, not to mention cold or tired. It's so easy to reach out for a bit of mindless snacking. We aren't really hungry of course, we just want to shake off the feeling of restless discomfort. But we once know, drinking some water, hot tea or taking a walk may be a better way.

And the nervousness too. Who doesn't occasionally grab a bite to calm yourself down? Might there be a hint of instant gratification in it too? Everyone's having a sweet tooth once in a while. Nothing wrong in it, unless it becomes a habit. Or could being hungry come from meals consisting of mostly processed food?

Food used to be less processed of course. There was a time when a bag of potato chips wasn't the standard side order with every meal. When that happens, digestion gives you withdrawal between meals that may feel as hunger, but isn't. Snacking of course is a band-aid solution to that and kicks the can down the road.

Is willpower of any help? When you're out in the nature, standing next to a sign that says not to feed wildlife or they'll die, how often don't you still let your kids do it when no one is looking or even when they are? It's so sweet connecting with the animal here and now. How far away is that from snacking sweetness?

I know people who drink water on long distance flights. They bring cut up vegetables and low sodium crackers from home, and that's good as long as that's not the only time they do it, because it's important at any given time. Yes, hydration is vital in the dry air of an airplane, but if the experience spills over into your daily life, that's better. Maybe fewer compliments and not so glamorous, but still.

Meanwhile we hold on to our snacks like never before, like it's some sort of right that must be defended at all cost. Of course we can do it anyway, it's not illegal or anything close to it. We are free to do it whenever we want to. Maybe it's just that we don't feel right about snacking unless publicly perceived as okay.

So we participate in public to help reinforce the perception and need not being reminded of anything that doesn't support it. It certainly isn't constructive being distracted by stuff such as blood sugar that's constantly elevated, how late night snacking impacts your growth hormone or how your pancreas is overworked and may shut down in thirty years.

I don't want to hear it. If you can't say anything nice, then why bother!

melindasuefritz

disagree snacks have nothing to do with it
there are healthy snacks
even if u eat an unhealthy snack so what
it depends on the calories
overweight people are going crazy on caleries