A Brief History of Changes in Eating Behaviour

Is Snacking Behaviour Healthy?

Prior to the 1970s Western society believed that daily food intake should be divided into three solid meals: breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Snacking between meals was seem to be unfavourable because it would ruin your appetite. Nowadays, dieticians often suggest adding 2-3 snacks to help appetite control, improve digestion, and regulate calorie consumption. Mainstream media picked up on this message and thus the habits of eating 5-6 small meals per day became the norm. It is interesting to note that the number of meals is not a universal standard. Even the traditional three meals are a recent shift in our eating behaviour. Historically, Ancient Romans exercised eating only one substantial meal a day, usually consumed at around 4pm. They also believed that eating more than once per day was unhealthy.

They would sometimes eat in the morning and at noon as well, however, these meals were small, light, and quick. This rings true in ancient Indian practices too where yogis would often eat one meal a day to maintain optimal physical and spiritual health. Monastic rules later began to influence common peoples’ eating behaviour. The term breakfast meant “break the night’s fast”, highlighting that it is the first meal after an evening devoted to prayer and rest. Monks would often eat in silence, focusing on the food in front of them. Having breakfast in the morning proceeded to become more common during the industrial revolution as it was important for people to eat before going to work. Dinner in its current form and timing became popular only after the widespread use of artificial light, which facilitated eating before dawn and after dark. We can learn a lot about our eating habits from the past. Sure, with everything that changes in the world, humans also need to adapt, however, not all change is healthy. Here are some studies that highlight the effects of the way we snack today.

Snacking and Your Health Markers

Several cross-sectional studies have highlighted the association of snacking with high body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, waist to hip ratio, waist to height ratio, total blood cholesterol, blood LDL level, and plasma glucose. Studies also found that frequent consumption of snack food is significantly associated with obesity, type 2 diabetes, and high blood pressure.

1) Snacking & Obesity

Obesity is a complex and multifactorial disorder that can arise from many reasons, including behavioural contributors. In recent years, snack intake has increased dramatically. This may lead to consequences such as weight gain and obesity, as snack foods tend to be high in fattening carbohydrates and processed ingredients. Superficially, hunger is the most probable cause for snacking. However, eating is not necessarily accompanied by hunger. External eating (eating in response to food signals) and emotional eating (eating in response to stress and other negative emotions) are other commonly cited explanations for eating. There is even evidence to indicate that, in response to stress, adults with obesity are more susceptible to consuming unhealthy snacks.

Studies indicated that chronic diseases such as obesity are linked to snacking. Whereas other studies confirm that snacking is good for health and has no effect on body weight when healthy snacks such as fruits and vegetables are consumed and snacks high in sugar and saturated fats are avoided

2) Snacking & Diabetes

Consuming snacks is frequently recommended as a way of regulating body weight and glycaemic control; however, studies supporting this practice are missing. Research does show that snacking leads to weight gain and increased risk of type 2 diabetes. Snacking also facilitates higher energy consumption by increasing food triggers, the desire to eat, and feelings of hunger, which is counter-productive to the treatment of type 2 diabetes.

When a study compared outcomes of diabetic patients who ate 2 meals and day versus 6 meals a day, they found beneficial effects on depressive symptoms and feelings of hunger were stronger for the group that had 2 meals. These findings, along with metabolic evidence – higher positive effects of two meals on body weight, hepatic fat content, fasting plasma glucose, and improved insulin sensitivity, indicate that a long-term commitment of type 2 diabetes patients to a fiber-rich hypocaloric diet and consuming large breakfasts and lunches could be more effective than the typical snacking model!

3) Snacking & Blood Pressure

High blood pressure in children and adolescents leads to adult hypertension and has been correlated with an elevated risk of early cardiovascular disorders as well as premature death. Being overweight or obese with elevated sodium intake is a significant risk factor for hypertension. A causal link between salt consumption and blood pressure has been revealed in adults. Sodium consumption from snacks accounted for almost half of the total daily sodium intake and strongly correlated with elevated blood pressure in adolescents, regardless of BMI. Therefore, sodium from snacks might be a modifiable element worthy of to minimize blood pressure values in the younger generation.

Snacking & Nutritional Quality

There is a general concern younger people eat less at regular meal time if they frequently consume large amounts of snack food of low nutritional quality between meals. However, the prevalence of consuming snack food and skipping meals among young adults varies worldwide. More recently it was reported eating of snack food is associated with skipping of meals. Snacking makes up about 27% of American children’s daily calorie intake and there has been a significant increase in snacking habits over the past few decades. Children tend to consume snacks that are calorie-rich and nutrient-poor, which is concerning when ore than 30% of children and adolescents are overweight or obese in America. Data also shows children do not obtain enough calcium, vitamin D, fibre, and potassium, but have high intakes of calories, carbohydrates, and sodium. Snacks such as high fat yoghurt, fresh fruit, raw vegetables, and nuts cam help provide nutrients to young children and adolescents while controlling calories.

Snacking & Mental Health

Some studies found that snacking not caused by hunger was associated with a higher overall calorie intake. Emotional eaters and those under psychological stress have been found to eat more energy-dense snacks, especially those higher in sugar and trans-fat. Some studies on pregnant women found that those who following the Western diet (characterised by process meats, grans, packages foods and vegetable oil) were more vulnerable to anxiety than those who followed a balanced diet consisting of fruits, fish, salad, unprocessed meats.

The bottom line is that snacking or eating consistently throughout the day is a relatively new habit we have developed as a result of changes in external factors such as social activities, stress, and types of food available. This behaviour can have an effect on our health markers such as BMI, waist circumference, and can lead to chronic disease of civilization such as diabetes, obesity, and high blood pressure. Snacking is also associated with skipping meals and eating nutrient poor foods, which often affect children and adolescents as they build key habits that they will take into adulthood. Finally, constant eating (especially of snack-foods) can have key effects on our mental health, and mood. Next time you consider snacking throughout the day, I hope you consider the vast effects it can have on your lifestyle now and in the future!