Snacky McSnackerson

Are you a snacker? I am a snacker. I typically eat a snack in the morning (between breakfast and lunch) and then another one in the afternoon between lunch and dinner. I usually eat every 3 hours so this works perfectly for me. My snacks are usually between 150-200 calories so anywhere from 300-400 calories of my daily calorie count.

A friend recently sent me an article from CNN Living called, Attack Of The Snack is Spreading. The basic run down was that menu items with the vocabulary “snack,” “snackable” or “snacker” have increased by 170 percent since 2007. This is true for fast food chains, like McDonalds and KFC, and restaurants, like The Cheesecake Factory. Surveys show that the average adult in the mid-1970s consumed approximately 200 calories from snacks. In the mid-1990s, the number jumped to 360 calories. Today, it’s more than 470 calories. Research also found that children now eat upwards of three snacks per day, accounting for more than 27 percent of their daily caloric intake. Coincidentally, nearly 34 percent of adults are obese, and childhood obesity rates have more than tripled in the past 30 years.

I personally think snacks are important. I think it is important to eat constantly throughout the day because it keeps you from being ravished at each meal time. I don’t think the idea of snacking is what is causing the obesity crisis but more the type and size of the snack being consumed! A snack should be just that…a snack..not a meal. I don’t think a snack should be upwards of 500 calories. I am sorry but that is more like a meal than a snack!

What do you think? Are you a snacker? Do you think snacking is a good or a bad thing?

Also are you ready for a challenge? Head over to Good ‘N’ Weird to join her 30-day Hard Core Challenge! I am going to do it! YAY!