Snacks are the cause of overweight people

13

Replies

  • Ramberta
    Ramberta Posts: 1,312 Member
    Just out of interest, my son brought my grand daughter to visit last week, and she asked for a biscuit or chocolate (she is 3 years old) I took her into the kitchen and said I have some nice yummy slices of ham..would you like to try it instead of a biscuit.

    I told her that it is so yummy, my son said Mum you can`t give her a slice of meat when she wants a biscuit (I do not keep biscuits)

    To cut a long story short she asked for the ham and said `daddy, grandma know best!` awww

    Good for you! Sounds like she needs to spend more time at your house.
  • Crankstr
    Crankstr Posts: 3,958 Member
    NO.
  • SkinniestAngel
    SkinniestAngel Posts: 2
    It's most likely what kids are snacking on. Doritos etc, yes. Fruits etc, no.
  • carolstartingover
    carolstartingover Posts: 83 Member
    I am the elder one on here. All 7 of us were thin or average weight. We had the 3 meals a day. But sometimes I got weak in-between meals and I still suffer from low sugar if I don't have something. I was thin, now I am overweight, I was on Prednisone and it helped me get fat. The problem I see is the availability of every kind of fattening food and snack you can eat. The cheaper meals are the most calories. I said to the checker at McD's "Can I have a parfait and apple slices"? She said "is that a number 4? I said no it is not a number it is a good diet choice. She got frustrated. Tells me I am not in the majority there. These so called specials are very high in calories. My answer: Kids play outside more and not get on the computer for X amount of time. I was one of the few parents who would not let supersized in my home. I have one 37 year old who is very obese and one 33 year old who is very thin, same parents. Go figure. Some must be pre-destined to be a certain size. .
  • kimosabe1
    kimosabe1 Posts: 2,467 Member
    It's the junk food.I bet if they had some fruit as a snack,they wouldn't be fat.



    ^^^^^^^^ EXACTLY. What ever happened to having an apple as a snack? The snacks now are bags of chips, a soda or cookies.
  • 3foldchord
    3foldchord Posts: 2,918 Member
    my kids snack all the time!
    thhe 19 year oldd iss 6'4" & 150#
    the 18 yr old is 5'8 1/2" and 125#

    I snacked a lot as a kid, and was skinny. I was thin until I had huge fibroid tumor then I got kind flabby.

    I think snacking is great!
  • vim_n_vigor
    vim_n_vigor Posts: 4,089 Member
    We had snacks all the time as kids. There were snacks in our house, snacks at school, and 'gasp' they even gave us chocolate milk in the middle of the morning with a snack! My weight problems didn't happen because of snacks. They happened because I started moving a lot less and eating a lot more.
  • shirleygirl910
    shirleygirl910 Posts: 503 Member
    Anyone seen "Weight of the Nation"? It was a special on HBO. You can go to http://theweightofthenation.hbo.com/ and see it for free. It talks about childhood obesity today and how things have changed as a society.
  • spamantha57
    spamantha57 Posts: 674 Member
    "Snacking" has absolutely nothing to do with it. If I eat 6 times a day, about 150-350 cals each, what's a snack? what's a meal? If only one is 350 calories, is that 1 meal & 5 snacks? Just eat healthy & exercise.
    The big difference today compared to 30-40 years ago is that people are less active and there's a lot of processed packaged crap.
  • thatsillyshana
    thatsillyshana Posts: 141
    My family never had snacks, so I never liked them and was never overweight. However, my brother made meals and called them snacks snacks, sometimes eating 2 sandwiches before dinner. I think if we had healthy snacks he would have been eaten those instead of the sandwiches, but instead, he became obese. He was very active too with baseball and playing around the neighborhood so I really blame his descent into obesity on his diet and not knowing any better.

    So my vote is no, snack are not making kids obese, uneducated parents accidentally make their kids obese.
  • jofjltncb6
    jofjltncb6 Posts: 34,415 Member
    I was a serious snack-eating machine as a kid. Pop-tarts, candy bars, chips...and juices, chocolate milk, etc...

    ...and was remarkably scrawny...(some would argue that I still am)...probably because I was incredibly active (and still am).

    Personally, my opinion is that the problem is people are eating more calories than they burn...whether it's in snacks, meals, or whatever you want to call the eating sessions. They're eating more and burning less. Period. The end.

    And I played a *lot* of video games. Sure, they weren't the awesome video games kids have now, but I still spent hours each day playing my Atari 2600...and watching cartoons every Saturday morning...and watching shows like Gilligan's Island every weekday.

    Also, all of my children are a healthy weight tending to be on the lighter side of their healthy range, even though they don't eat particularly "healthy"...but they're incredibly active. (Hmmm, just like me as a kid.)

    But don't let my personal story stop anyone from blaming snacks...or video games...or advertising...or something other than our failure to ensure that we're as active as we should be.
  • cmcollins001
    cmcollins001 Posts: 3,472 Member
    MjAxMi1iZDE5MDdhMTE4M2MxMTFj.png

    It's only a matter of time before someone else buys the recipe. I'm calling that by this time next year, if not sooner, some new form of "Twinkies" will be on the shelves yet again.

    It's already been bought. Should be back in stores by July. The ebay Twinkies market crashed, people through themselves out of chairs...it was horrific!!

    http://www.nbcnews.com/business/twinkies-real-ones-back-store-shelves-july-6C9590050
  • Woomytron
    Woomytron Posts: 253 Member
    I had snacks as a kid and wasn't overweight. Its all about what you give the kids. My son eats snacks and he is so freaking tiny. He always asks for apples and 'nanas (bananas). You are suppose to eat more then 3 meals a day, if I only ate 3 times a day I would feel so stuffed at meals because I have to eat about 1600 calories a day. Snacks aren't the problem, its what they are snacking on and/or how much they are eating of it.
  • TheBaileyHunter
    TheBaileyHunter Posts: 641 Member
    None of my children (now grown young adults) are overweight. All healthy. They had snacks, but a snack in my house was a piece of fruit, or veggies or yogurt. It wasn't cookies, a sandwich, chips or a small meal. It was a snack. Something intended to keep the blood sugars level so that they would eat proper at dinner. And there was no such thing as a bedtime snack, and I never did desserts.

    I worked very hard not to pass on the bad eating habits that I inherited, and it seems to have worked.

    When it comes to snacks I think it's about two things - quality and quantity. Keep those both in proper form, and they are useful tools to healthy eating.
  • baja572
    baja572 Posts: 94
    WE always had snacks as children as well as my own children. Difference is my mother and I played and worked outside as well as I with my children...My grandchildren are not over weight their parents play and work with them outside alot and they beat snacks. My activity level dropped and now here I am...
  • iamnotjustanumber
    iamnotjustanumber Posts: 15
    If you are snacking on things that are going to cause an insulin spike, you are likely to lay up fat.

    healthy snacking and all day grazing on good stuff will not.


    moving around a bit more will help.

    generic "snacking is bad" statement, in my opinion... is inncorrect...
  • DawnieB1977
    DawnieB1977 Posts: 4,248 Member
    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!

    I saw a book by a French woman recently (can't recall the title, maybe someone else will). It is about feeding kids and she says that the reason why French children are not picky about eating healthy foods is because they are not allowed to snack and that they eat what is put in front of them or they don't eat. Anyone else know about this?

    I worked as an au pair in France years ago and the kids snacked. I have a French friend (5'10, US size 6) who eats the biggest amount of crap I have ever seen, on top of full meals!

    You don't get the same choice of junk in France that you can get in the US or UK. Crisps (chips) are limited to a few flavours and usually sharing bags, and chocolate bars are limited too.
  • RobynMWilson
    RobynMWilson Posts: 1,540 Member
    I lose 70lbs and have kept it off for the better part of 20 years and at least 500 cals of my day come from snacks. But they're not Fruit Roll Ups and chips, etc...they are things like a Pepper Jack cheese stick, greek yogurt, all natural PB, etc.. I eat 6-8 times per day and it's what helps to keep my metabolism so that this former fat kid can eat over 2000 cals per day at 40 years old!
  • sparkie51
    sparkie51 Posts: 98 Member
    Portion control,sugary and processed foods, and lack of movement are some reasons for overweight children and adults. I have counted calories all my life but it wasn't until MFP and my Fitbit that I really got the calorie in vs calorie out. I do not burn enough to eat whatever I want. I have to control eating and exercise too.I find many of my friends ignorant of the number of calories in foods.
    Our society has spawned obesity and we have to begin to control it for our children's sake. Conscious eating is a way to start.
  • Johanne1957
    Johanne1957 Posts: 167 Member
    kids where also allowed to go out and play when i was growing up.

    THIS. I never see kids outside anymore. When I was a kid, we were always outside running around like maniacs, riding our bikes, rollerskating, fighting each other...you name it. On the weekends and during the summer, my mom would send us out right after breakfast and tell us not to come back until lunch. If we did, she gave us chores to do, so we stayed gone...then after lunch, same thing. Go out and play until dinner time, otherwise I'll put you to work. :laugh:
    This and that...Yes and yes...way too true....kids only move their thumbs now...the big exercise is to get up to plug phone or laptop in for recharge...lol...
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,226 Member
    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
    maiaroman18 Posts: 460 Member
    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
    fitplease Posts: 647 Member
    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
    sunnyskys2013 Posts: 159 Member
    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
    MCLA4mom Posts: 219 Member
    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
    slkehl Posts: 3,801 Member
    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
    GeorgieLove708 Posts: 442 Member
    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
    KaleidoscopeEyes1056 Posts: 2,996 Member
    Well, I guess I should put away my blueberries because snacking on them is making me fat...
  • GeorgieLove708
    GeorgieLove708 Posts: 442 Member
    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
    KateBarnhart85 Posts: 125 Member
    ... 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 .

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