A high-calorie snack increases daily calorie intake by 263 calories per day

Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Thursday, March 22, 2007 4:08 am Email this article
Snacking increases daily calorie intake according to a new study from the Rowett Research Institute in Aberdeen, Scotland. In other words, people do not fully compensate for the calories the consume in snacks. Snacks

Snacks: 720 calorie snack, 360 calorie snack, or no snack each day

People were forced eat either a high-calorie snack (720 calories), a low-calorie snack (360 calories), or no snack each day for three weeks.

 

Snack Increase Calorie Intake

Snacks increase daily calorie intake: 263 calories for high-calorie snack, 68 calories for low-calorie snack

Total daily calorie intake for the three groups was as follows:

• 2,484 calories per day for those eating no snacks
• 2,652 calories per day for those eating a low-calorie snack (68 calories more than the no snack group)
• 2,747 calories per day for those eating a high-calorie snack (263 calories more than the no snack group)

Food Diary

People ate fewer calories when they wrote it down

The authors noted that people ate fewer daily calories when they wrote down that they had eaten a snack.

“Energy balance was more positive [that is, people consumed more calories] when subjects were not recording their food intakes than when they were,” the paper notes.

 

Comment

Comment: This why meal replacements work

This is why meal replacements, such as SlimFast shakes, work. People do not fully compensate for the calories that they miss at a meal.

Comment: Write it down

The other lesson to be learned from the study is keep a food diary—write down what you eat. This is the only way to realize how much you eat. Otherwise, we all lie to ourselves and say, “I didn’t really eat that much.” Yes, you did. Write it down.

REFERENCE

Whybrow S, Mayer C, Kirk TR, Mazlan N, Stubbs RJ. Effects of two weeks’ mandatory snack consumption on energy intake and energy balance. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2007 Mar, 15(3):673-85.

AUTHOR’S CONTACT INFORMATION

S. Whybrow
Rowett Research Institute
Greenburn Road
Aberdeen AB21 9SB, Scotland
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Articles on the same subject can be found here:

• Snacks