‘Snacking not linked to weight gain’ Washington: US researchers
have indicated that consuming snacks cannot be blamed for the
rise in obesity.Their research revealed that snacks and beverage
consumption between meals continue to increase among Americans,
accounting for more than 25 percent of calorie intake each day.
Between 1977 and 2006, snacking in the American diet has grown
to constitute ‘a full eating event’, or a fourth meal, averaging
about 580 calories each day, said Richard D. Mattes, Ph.D.,
professor of foods and nutrition at Purdue University. While
snacking has increased in general, "there has been a significant
increase in the amount of calories consumed through beverages,"
he said. In general, however, snacking is not linked with weight
gain, according to G. Harvey Anderson, Department of Nutritional
Sciences at the University of Toronto. "The literature does not
support the intuitive notion that increased consumption of snack
foods is an independent cause of obesity," said Anderson. In
fact fo