We often disregard any thoughts on the benefits or damages that snacking might have. It’s not hurting anybody, right? We munch and nibble on so many types of snacks throughout a day that we stopping thinking of this habit altogether.
This is because our minds are often occupied with our daily tasks and when hunger strikes, we just grab and eat whatever snack happens to be around. And if we’re being honest with ourselves, we don’t keep home-cooked healthy meals around our office; it’s most likely to be some Chinese take-out, potato wafers, sugar-glazed doughnuts and so on.
We feed ourselves so mindlessly with such non-nutritional food, that we forget the impact it has on us, and most importantly, on our children, who need us to keep a check on their snacking habits.
Upon observation, it appears that kids experience increased snacking impulses a couple of hours before dinner. It’s because the day’s activities are usually done by this time, and eating lunch is only a memory – so children find it easy to indulge themselves.
However, allowing them to fill up on snacks at this time is a sure-fire way to set yourself up for a fight at dinner, because children will want to skip it. Making smart choices as a parent monitoring their child’s diet is one of the safest ways to prevent obesity.
A recent study has found that you can curb your kid’ unhealthy snacking in the evening by replacing it with high-protein snacks, such as soy foods, which promote fullness and decrease craving for more snacking in the next few hours.
Teenagers are the ones dealing with unhealthy snacks the most, as standard meals tend to become delayed and mess up the eating schedule. The second part of the day, from mid-afternoon to late evening, when teenagers transition from after-school activities to going home, is the time when many abuse of the convenient ‘grab-and-go’ snacks.
And there is nothing nutritious in them – only a lot of fat and sugar to momentarily feed hunger. Making sure your kid eats high-protein snacks in the afternoon will help prevent an in-take of unhealthy snacks later in the day.
Studying a group of teenage boys and girls aged 13 to 19, researchers found benefits beyond the satiety benefits; eating high-protein snacks helped them incorporate more proteins from other meals throughout the day and discouraged cravings for dietary fat.
Moreover, the soy-protein pudding the teenage ate was found to improve mood and cognitive function.
Image Source: She Knows