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Home » Lose Weight Fast » Snack time: Eating between meals may help dieters lose weight, but keep it reasonable

Snacking can be a help or a hindrance when it comes to managing your weight.

Reasonable snacking can stave off hunger and prevent overeating at meals. But the problem seems to be in determining what is reasonable.

Americans snack more now than in past decades. A study done at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and published in The Journal of Nutrition compared data about snacking from national health surveys done between 1977 and 2006. During this time, Americans increased the percent of calories from snacking from 18 percent of total calories in 1977 to 24 percent of total calories in 2006. Twenty-four percent of calories from snacking equates to about 600 calories per day.

And what Americans snack on has changed. There has been a huge increase in salty snacks, both the low- and high-fat versions, from 2 percent of total snacking calories in 1977 to just more than 14 percent of total snacking calories in 2006.

Consumption of candy, nuts and seeds and cereals also increased. The amount of snacking on high-fat desserts, like cake, decreased, but snacking on low-fat desserts, like reduced-fat cookies, increased.

Surprisingly, consumption of regular sodas remained about the same, but intake of fruit drinks and sports drinks increased. Consumption of fresh fruit, recommended by most health professionals as part of a healthy snack, decreased. During this time

period, obesity rates have dramatically increased.

Maybe Americans snack so much because food is so widely available and so heavily advertised. According to Mintel Menu Insights, a consumer market research firm, menu items at restaurants classified as a "snack item" have increased by 170 percent since 2007.

McDonald's has a Snack Wrap (a beef patty with condiments wrapped in a tortilla), and KFC has "Snackers," a smaller version of the typical chicken sandwich that comes in several varieties. A McDonald's Grilled Snack Wrap with Ranch dressing has 270 calories, while a KFC Snacker has 210 to 310 calories, depending on the type you choose. These are more like a small meal than a snack, and if you add a sweet beverage (around 150 calories) or a small order of French fries (around 200 calories), you would increase the calories significantly.

Many dietitians recommend keeping snacks in the 100- to 200-calorie range. If you eat snacks that are a lot more than that, it can drive up your overall calories for the day.

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Snack time: Eating between meals may help dieters lose weight, but keep it reasonable

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Home » Lose Weight Fast » Snack time: Eating between meals may help dieters lose weight, but keep it reasonable