Snacking is on the increase and when eaten as part of a balanced diet and lifestyle, snacks can play a useful role in our overall health.

Whether a snack is described as any food eaten outside of breakfast, lunch and dinner or as small items to replace traditional meals, the choice varies between Europeans countries.

While people in some cultures prefer savoury foods such as pretzels, crisp breads and crisps, in others, people like to snack on sweeter tasting options such as yoghurts, fruit, biscuits, chocolate and fizzy drinks.

Whichever are chosen, there is a tendency to think that snacking not only makes you fat, but is the cause of tooth decay. Neither need be the case. For example, scientists have not found that snacking causes obesity - maybe because frequent snackers simply readjust the number of calories they eat at meal times so that their total daily calorie intake matches their needs.

If you have good oral hygiene, experts have also concluded that as a general rule, having two to three snacks or drinks a day in addition to meals can be allowed. Chewing sugar free gums, especially those containing the sweetener xylitol after meals is a good idea to help to reduce the risk of decay. The sugar-free gums help by increasing the flow of tooth-friendly saliva and lowering the presence of decay-causing bacteria.

Experts have also found that for some people a significant portion of essential daily nutrient intake comes from snacks. In Edinburgh, for example, snacks were shown to contribute over a quarter of the daily energy needs in a group of 7-8 year old children as well as making important contributions to their intakes of protein, carbohydrate, fat and fibre. Not only this, some 15 per cent of the bone strengthening mineral calcium and a fifth of their vitamin C came from snack foods.

Adolescents can also benefit from between-meal snacks such as yoghurts, fromage frais, low-fat milk shakes, ice cream, calcium-enriched juices, milk chocolate and cheese, all helping to top up calcium intakes. Sporty people trying to maintain energy levels, and the elderly who find large meals hard to handle, often find that the best way to meet their nutritional needs is through the regular intake of food and drinks that snacking provides.

Looking around Europe, it is clear that 'eating on the go' is a growing trend. And with the need to fit our food intake into increasingly busy lifestyles, it is one that is here to stay.

For many of us, snack foods are a convenient and enjoyable way to meet our daily nutritional needs. It is good to know that as a part of a healthy, active lifestyle, they can also do us good.

FOOD TODAY 09/2000