How snacking makes you fat

10 April 2012

Eating between meals is turning us into a nation of fatties, says a survey. Do you really know how bad your snack habit is? We asked three people to keep a weekly food diary...

The builder

Daniel Bates, 30, from Sussex

For his main meals he has a full English breakfast, a sandwich and chips for lunch, then meat, potatoes and two vegetables for dinner.

DANIEL'S SNACKS IN ONE WEEK

4 pastry slices, 2 sausage rolls, 10 packets of crisps, 2 McDonald's breakfasts, 1 Big Mac, 3 Cadbury's Caramels, 1 Wispa, 1 Snickers, 1 Lion bar, 5 muffins, 5 Mars bars, 1 kingsize Mars, two KFC chicken burgers, 9 cans of coke, 1 can of 7Up, 1 portion chicken wings, 1 mini malt loaf, 1 Cadbury's flake cake, 1 slice fruit cake, 1 packet of peanuts, 1 bottle of orange juice, 2 hot cross buns, 1 Indian takeaway, 1 kebab, 1 cheeseburger.

Weekly calories from main meals: 14,231
Weekly snack calories: 17,801
TOTAL CALORIES: 32,032 (Recommended weekly calories: 17,850)

Daniel says: "I eat a lot, there's no denying it. I start off every morning with two pints of milk before breakfast, and I eat these snacks in addition to - and occasionally instead of - other meals. As well as all this food, I got through 82 hours of work last week, and it's very physical.

My pub refitting team will go into a bar and demolish it in two days - then rebuild it the following week. I've lost four stone already this year, even though I'm putting away food like this. But I know this way of eating is not great. The team are all shocked by what I've got through.

After this little exercise, they're going to be keeping a closer eye on me - and fining me when I eat too much rubbish."

The nutritionist says: "Daniel is consuming 32,032 calories a week - almost double the needs of the average man. He appears to be eating little but convenience food. He obviously works very hard, and his energy expenditure is extremely high. In terms of the balance between his energy intake and energy output, he has a better balance than 11-year-old Dominic - purely because of the nature of his work. If he's lost four stone eating this, imagine what he would have lost if he ate foods that weren't full of empty calories."

The schoolboy

Dominic Ryan, 11, from Walton-on-Thames

For breakfast he eats scrambled egg with two slices of wholemeal toast or cereal. For lunch at school he takes a brown-bread ham sandwich, fresh orange drink, crisps and a chocolate biscuit. A typical supper will be pizza, pasta or chilli con carne.

DOMINIC'S SNACKS IN ONE WEEK

5 bags of crisps, 2 bags mini cookies, 1 Cadbury's chocolate flake cake, 2 club biscuits, 1 banana, 1 apple, 1 bag Twiglets, small bag popcorn, mini pancakes, 1 packet of Chewits, 1 meringue.

Weekly calories from main meals: 14,000.
Weekly snack calories: 2,800.
TOTAL CALORIES: 16,800. (Recommended weekly calories: 14,000)

Dominic says: "I was quite surprised at how many snacks I have. I didn't realise, having things one by one, how it all adds up. My mum was horrified when she saw the whole list. She's a vegetarian, and eats very healthy food. We're not allowed crisps at break time at school - if we want to eat anything then, it has to be fruit, but Mum puts a bag of crisps in my packed lunch every day. I eat the other snacks after school. I know apples are healthier than crisps, but they're a bit boring."

The nutritionist says:"Dominic's mum is right to be horrified. He's getting through an extraordinary amount of sugar unnecessarily. It shows the addictive qualities of this kind of snack. I do advocate snacking - but not on empty calories like this which have little nutritional value. One satisfying snack in the morning and afternoon can keep you away from products like these."

The housewife

Judy Bates, 53, from Watford

For breakfast she eats a yoghurt; for lunch, a piece of fruit, and she has a cooked meal every evening, for example, roast chicken and three veg.

JUDY'S SNACKS IN ONE WEEK

4 packets crisps, a cream cake, chocolate (125g), 3 apples, 1 Boost chocolate bar, 250g Stilton, 2 slices ham, 450g tub of Cadbury's Heroes, slice of fruitcake, 2 Club biscuits, 2 packets of peanuts, Marmite on toast, 1 banana, sausage roll, half a tube of Pringles crisps, 3 plain biscuits.

Weekly calories from main meals: 5,600.
Weekly snack calories: 8,070.
TOTAL CALORIES: 13,670. (Recommended weekly calories: 13,300)

Judy says: "It's frightening to think of all the fats and salts that I'm putting into my body. It makes me feel quite sick when I look at my snack diary. I'm going to try to cut down. My eating patterns are very varied. I eat a meal at night when I cook for my husband, and I try to have breakfast, but sometimes I don't, and then I start snacking earlier. I feel I should eat more healthily, but I have an active life. I have four terriers and a horse, so I get lots of exercise and I'm only a few pounds overweight. Crisps and Stilton - I eat it like cake - are my weakness. Last weekend, I ate a whole tub of Cadbury's Heroes."

The nutritionist says: "She is taking grazing to new heights, but is only slightly above her recommended weekly calorific intake. At least with cheese, ham, peanuts and a sausage roll she is closer to the mixture of carbohydrates and protein which makes for a sustaining and nutritious snack. If she wanted to lose some weight, she should choose fewer calorie-rich and nutrient-poor foods."