HE-3
Kids and Food
SNACK TIME FOR KIDS
William Evers, Ph.D., Extension Specialist, Food and Nutrition
For children, eating between meals or snacking is as commonplace as bedtime. It is estimated that children now eat something 10-12 different times each day. Snacking appears to have increased in the last decade. One reason for this is that for mothers with young children the percent of those with jobs outside of the home has risen from around 25-30 percent in 1970 to approximately 50 percent in 1980. This leaves less time to prepare regular meals and to supervise the preparation of snacks. Ready-to-eat or heat-and-serve foods, as well as meals and snacks outside of the home, are far more common today.
According to one study of 657 children who were 5-12 years old (see References, Morgan), the average snack provided the following percentages of the average total daily intake: 20 percent of calories, 12 percent of protein, 18 percent of fat, 24 percent of carbohydrate and 32 percent of total sugar. Snacks contributed to more than 10 percent of the Recommended Dietary Allowance for total vitamin A, vitamin C, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin B6, vitamin B-12, iron, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium and zinc. The average snack also accounted for 13 percent of the average daily intake of sodium and cholesterol for these children.
So snacks are a fact of life for our children. Are they good or bad, or does it matter? It does matter. It matters nutritionally and economically. With the increasing cost of food, it becomes more important to get the best total nutrition out of our food dollar.
How do snacks fit in?
Children have high energy needs because their bodies grow rapidly. In addition, the activity level of many children is high. Eating regular meals at breakfast, lunch and dinner is not always enough to provide needed calories between meals. Children may not be able to consume enough at one meal to last them until the next meal.
Besides extra calories, snacks can also provide children with other nutrients that may not be completely furnished in regular meals. Results from nutrition surveys indicate that children in the United States may get less than an adequate amount of iron, vitamin A and vitamin C. Proper snack selections can supply these needed nutrients.
Another important role for snacks is to develop good eating habits. Through parental examples, a child should be learning the proper food choices early in life, preferably by the age of 5 or 6. There is also a social factor involved in snacking which should not be overlooked. Food satisfies more than just physiological needs. Social interactions of children may be influenced by a planned or an unplanned snack.
Does “junk” food exist?
Individual foods provide nutrients primarily for three body functions: providing energy from calories, building and maintaining tissues, and regulating body processes. All foods accomplish at least one of these functions. For this reason, it is unwise to label a particular food or group of foods as “junk.” A total diet might be considered “junk” if it does not have a variety of nutrients but contains excessive amounts of just a few. According to Dr. Helen Guthrie of Penn State University, a commonly held opinion is that a snack is “junk if it: tastes good, is advertised to children, is sold at a fast-food restaurant or from a vending machine, is processed, or is popular with adolescents. That eliminates most snacks.
An example can illustrate this point. A child has been active all day and has met most nutrient requirements but still could use 100-200 calories. Is a candy bar “junk” food if it provides these calories? Another example, a child really has not obtained the calcium and iron he or she needs but has met most other nutrient needs. Is an orange or
COOPERATIVE EXTENSION SERVICE • PURDUE UNIVERSITY • WEST LAFAYETTE, INDIANA