Offering Children a Wide Variety and Large Quantities of Snack Food Encourages Them to Eat More

Posted on July 20, 2019

The consumption of snacks, if excessive, leads to obesity. This is a growing issue in Australia, causing more children to become overweight or obese. As a result, many of them stand a high chance of being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes or have respiratory and liver problems.

A research conducted by Murdoch Children’s Research Institute has found that giving children a large variety and quantity of snacks leads to them eating more, contributing to overweight issues in them. When the child participants were provided with a larger amount of snack items, they tend to eat more. This was less evident in adults, which might be due to the fact that they know that they are being observed, hence controlling their snacking.

The size of the container in which the food was given to them had little effect on their food intake. Therefore, with regards to children, the manner in which the snacks are given to them does not affect how much they consume.

Previous studies related to children’s diet were mainly concerned with main meals rather than snack food. However, the study has shown that it is crucial to take into account the amount of snacks consumed, as Australians in general derive 30 to 40 percent of their energy intake from snacking. Snacks are meant to be eaten occasionally, rather than being treated as part of someone’s diet.

1 in 5 children are overweight or obese, which makes this an important issue to address due to the possible health consequences that comes with excess fat. Steps should be taken to control the amount of food being offered to children as well as to provide them with healthier snacks.


Category(s):Child and/or Adolescent Issues, Parenting

Source material from Science Daily