Trends in snacking among U.S. children

Abstract

Nationally representative surveys of food intake in U.S. children show large increases in snacking between the 1989-91 to 1994-98 and 1994-98 to 2003-06 periods. Childhood snacking trends are moving toward three snacks per day, and more than 27 percent of children's daily calories are coming from snacks. The largest increases have been in salty snacks and candy. Desserts and sweetened beverages remain the major sources of calories from snacks.

EXHIBIT 1. Percent of U.S. children consuming snacks over a 2-day period (% of snackers on day 1, day 2 or both)

SOURCE: Content based on authors’ assessments.

EXHIBIT 3. Contribution of snacking to total daily energy intake by year and age group. Numbers above bars represent total caloric intake per day among snackers. Solid bars in the bottom represent the percent of energy from snacks

SOURCE: Content based on authors’ assessments. Notes:*Significantly different from the previous year, P<0.01 (Student’s t test). **Significantly different between 1977–78 and 2003–06, P<0.01 (Student’s t test). Standard errors for the total kcal for snacking are found in Exhibit 2.

EXHIBIT 5. The proportion of snacking calories from food groups in U.S. children aged 2–18 years old. Colored bars represent percents of energy from snacking energy intake. The UNC-CH Food Grouping System was used to select the main food groups. Desserts include cakes, cookies, pies, bars, ice creams and gelatin desserts. High fat desserts were defined as those with more than 5 grams of fat per 100 grams of food. Salty snacks include crackers, chips, pop corns and pretzels. High fat salty snacks were defined as those with more than 5 grams of fat per 100 grams of food

SOURCE: Content based on authors’ assessments.