Uses and abuses of snack foods in child health

Snack foods, though regarded as unhealthy, are widely eaten by children, particularly those with eating and feeding difficulties. This article outlines the ways in which paediatricians have traditionally made use of snack foods as incentives and then reviews the key nutritional and practical characteristics of commonly eaten snack foods, to allow practitioners to evaluate their role in the child's diet. Generally savoury snacks are preferable to sweet, while dry foods are preferable to drinks or semiliquid desserts. Many ostensibly healthy snacks are also rich in sugar or fat. Eaten in addition to other meals, snack foods may lead to obesity or else displace family foods, but the instant appeal of snack foods can be exploited to introduce young children to otherwise aversive sensations and tastes and can prove a useful path towards a more diverse future diet. If a reasonable variety of snack foods are taken, this will still form a fairly balanced, if non-ideal, diet

Does the availability of snack foods in supermarkets vary internationally?

BackgroundCross-country differences in dietary behaviours and obesity rates have been previously reported. Consumption of energy-dense snack foods and soft drinks are implicated as contributing to weight gain, however little is known about how the availability of these items within supermarkets varies internationally. This study assessed variations in the display of snack foods and soft drinks within a sample of supermarkets across eight countries.MethodsWithin-store audits were used to evaluate and compare the availability of potato chips (crisps), chocolate, confectionery and soft drinks. Displays measured included shelf length and the proportion of checkouts and end-of-aisle displays containing these products. Audits were conducted in a convenience sample of 170 supermarkets across eight developed nations (Australia, Canada, Denmark, Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, United Kingdom (UK), and United States of America (US)).ResultsThe mean total aisle length of snack foods (adjusted for store size) was greatest in supermarkets from the UK (56.4 m) and lowest in New Zealand (21.7 m). When assessed by individual item, the greatest aisle length devoted to chips, chocolate and confectionery was found in UK supermarkets while the greatest aisle length dedicated to soft drinks was in Australian supermarkets. Only stores from the Netherlands (41%) had less than 70% of checkouts featuring displays of snack foods or soft drinks.ConclusionWhilst between-country variations were observed, overall results indicate high levels of snack food and soft drinks displays within supermarkets across the eight countries. Exposure to snack foods is largely unavoidable within supermarkets, increasing the likelihood of purchases and particularly those made impulsively.<br /

Fundamentals of Entrepreneurship (ENT300) : Wisi Snacks / Muhammad Syazwi Mohd Yusri

A snack is a small service of food and generally eaten between meals. Snacks come in a variety of forms including packaged snack foods and other processed foods, as well as items made from fresh ingredients at home. Snack foods are typically designed to be portable, quick, and satisfying. Processed snack foods, as one form of convenience food, are designed to be less perishable, more durable, and more portable than prepared foods. They often contain substantial amounts of sweeteners, preservatives, and appealing ingredients such as chocolate, and specially - designed flavours such as flavoured potato chips

Nutritional Content in Snack Food: Consumer Perceptions and Behaviors

People's lifestyles encouraged them to devour the main dish in a short amount of time. It demonstrated the value of snack foods as a source of supplementary energy. To present an example of marketing agro-industry in some healthy snack foods for college student, it was necessary to understand consumer behaviors regarding sugar intake in snacking. The marketers need to understand the customer perceptions and behaviors towards nutritional content in snack foods to create healthy snack food. The aims of this study were: 1) to analyze the consumer perceptions and behaviors of nutritional content in snack food products; 2) to identify dominant factors which affect the consumption of snack food products. The study was conducted on 200 respondents of college students. Snack foods were commonly consumed by college students, who were classified as adolescents, in between substantial meals. Descriptive statistics and Principal Component Analysis (PCA) were performed. Consumer impressions on a preliminary assessment of the nutrition label, which includes sugar components, were determined using descriptive statistics. Furthermore, PCA was performed to identify the main consumer characteristics that affect snacking, allowing the impact of sugar content on snack food consumption. The results indicated that the consumers were concerned enough about eating nutritious meals. Consumers, on the other hand, rarely read nutrition labels. The "benefit" and "wants" factors were the most important elements affecting consumer snack food intake. The nutritious composition of snack foods, on the other hand, did not affect snack food consumption. The consumers were unconcerned about the sugar content in snack food

Adolescent television viewing and unhealthy snack food consumption: the mediating role of home availability of unhealthy snack foods

Objective To examine whether home availability of energy-dense snack foods mediates the association between television (TV) viewing and energy-dense snack consumption among adolescents.Design Cross-sectional.Setting Secondary schools in Victoria, Australia.Subjects Adolescents (n 2984) from Years 7 and 9 of secondary school completed a web-based survey, between September 2004 and July 2005, assessing their energy-dense snack food consumption, school-day and weekend-day TV viewing and home availability of energy-dense snack foods.Results School-day and weekend-day TV viewing were positively associated with energy-dense snack consumption among adolescent boys (&beta; = 0&middot;003, P &lt; 0&middot;001) and girls (&beta; = 0&middot;03, P &lt; 0&middot;001). Furthermore, TV viewing (school day and weekend day) were positively associated with home availability of energy-dense snack foods among adolescent boys and girls and home availability of energy-dense snack foods was positively associated with energy-dense snack food consumption among boys (&beta; = 0&middot;26, P &lt; 0&middot;001) and girls (&beta; = 0&middot;28, P &lt; 0&middot;001). Home availability partly mediated the association between TV viewing and energy-dense snack consumption.Conclusions The results of the present study suggest that TV viewing has a significant role to play in adolescent unhealthy eating behaviours. Future research should assess the efficacy of methods to reduce adolescent energy-dense snack food consumption by targeting parents to reduce home availability of energy-dense foods and by reducing TV viewing behaviours of adolescents

TRENDS IN U.S. WHEAT-BASED FOOD CONSUMPTION: NUTRITION, CONVENIENCE, AND ETHNIC FOODS

This study identifies U.S. consumers' use of food nutrition labels on wheat-based foods; consumer attitudes toward the importance of taste, price, and nutrition in choosing wheat-based snack foods; and consumer knowledge of Middle-Eastern wheat-based foods. A survey of U.S. primary grocery shoppers indicated that most respondents believed it was important that their diets contained wheat-based food products. A majority of respondents indicated that fat content was the most important item on food nutrition labels when making a wheat-based food purchase decision. A majority of respondents indicated that taste was the most important factor when making wheat-based snack food purchases. Most respondents were not familiar with Middle-Eastern wheat-based foods.Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

Analisa Kadar Timbal (Pb) pada Gorengan yang Disajikan Menggunakan Penutup dan Tidak Menggunakan Penutup pada Kawasan Traffic Light Kota Medan Tahun 2012

Analysis of lead (pb) in snack foods served using a cover and without cover a round traffic light in the city of Medan in 2012. Snack foods such as fried bananas favored by many people. Food-borne illness cause of foods served does not eligible hygiene and food sanitation. Fried presented a round the traffic light is not served by closed container. The cover is estimated to effect pollution of lead (Pb) in the food. This study aimed to determine levels of lead (Pb) in the snack foods served using a cover and without it a round traffic light in the city of Medan in 2012. This study was descriptive research, to know the levels of lead (Pb) in the snack foods served using a cover and without it a round traffic light in the city of Medan in 2012. Results of this research showed there was all samples contained lead (Pb). Object of this research is 10 samples of fried bananas, consist of 5 samples were using a glass cover and 5 samples were without it. Highest levels of lead (Pb) is in fried foods served a round the traffic light of Pinang Baris, which is 2.89 ppm. Lowest levels of lead (Pb) is in fried foods served a round the traffic light of Komplek Tasbi, which is 2.04 ppm. Snack foods served using a cover was qualify by set under Threshold Limit Value and all levels of lead (Pb) in the fried banana without a cover a round the traffic light was unqualify by set under Regulation of BPOM RI No. 03725/B/SK/VII/89 a bout maximum limit of metal pollution in food. Contamination of lead (Pb) has occurred in snacks food served using a cover and without it a round traffic light in the city of Medan in 2012. Cover reduces the pollution of lead (Pb) in snack foods. Therefore, a cover should be used to snack foods when serving it a round the traffic light

Taxing Snack Foods: What to Expect for Diet and Tax Revenues

Health researchers and health policy advocates have proposed levying excise taxes on snack foods as a possible way to address the growing prevalence of obesity and overweight in the United States. Some proposals suggest higher prices alone will change consumers' diets. Others claim that change will be possible if earmarked taxes are used to fund an information program. This research examines the potential impact of excise taxes on snack foods, using baseline data from a household survey of food purchases. To illustrate likely impacts, we examine how much salty snack purchases might be reduced under varying excise tax rates and possible consumer price responses. We find that relatively low tax rates of 1 cent per pound and 1 percent of value would not appreciably alter consumption - and, thus, would have little effect on diet quality or health outcomes - but would generate $40-$100 million in tax revenues.Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Public Economics,

Food neophobia and mealtime food consumption in 4-5 year old children.

Background: Previous research has documented a negative association between maternal report of child food neophobia and reported frequency of consumption of fruit, vegetables, and meat. This study aimed to establish whether neophobia is associated with lower intake of these food types in naturalistic mealtime situations. Methods: One hundred and nine parents of 4–5 year olds completed questionnaires which included a six-item version of the Child Food Neophobia Scale (CFNS). The children took part in a series of 3 test lunch meals at weekly intervals at school at which they were presented with: chicken, cheese, bread, cheese crackers, chocolate biscuits, grapes and tomatoes or carrot sticks. Food items served to each child were weighed before and after the meal to assess total intake of items in four categories: Fruit and vegetables, Protein foods, Starchy foods and Snack foods. Pearson Product Moment Correlations and independent t tests were performed to examine associations between scores on the CFNS and consumption during lunches. Results: Neophobia was associated with lower consumption of fruit and vegetables, protein foods and total calories, but there was no association with intake of starch or snack foods. Conclusion: These results support previous research that has suggested that neophobia impacts differentially on consumption of different food types. Specifically it appears that children who score highly on the CFNS eat less fruit, vegetables and protein foods than their less neophobic peers. Attempts to increase intake of fruit, vegetables and protein might usefully incorporate strategies known to reduce the neophobic response