A balanced diet depends on the quality at the table but above all on the quantity ingested.
At the snack, in times of smart working more and more often within the walls of the home, there is the risk of exceeding in comfort food.
According to a survey by BVA Doxa - Unione Italiana Food on a representative sample of 600 mothers of children aged 5 to 13, the excess error is around the corner: 7 out of 10 mothers choose slices of about 100-120 grams in the case of tart and about 90-120 grams for the donut.
That is to say, almost 3 times more than the weight of a snack that is packaged on average by the food industry at 35 grams.
While the average weight of the two snacks to be portioned, balancing the mini slices with the maxi ones, is 96 grams for the tart and 84 grams for the ciambellone.
In addition, 1 in 3 mothers (30%) is used to giving their children an encore and at the same time loves doing it.
The research also revealed that the portion of tart and donut that mothers choose for them is, surprisingly, the same one they choose for their children.
Also in this case by overestimating the caloric needs that their children have compared to the time of the snack.
On the nutritional front, a portion of 96 grams of jam tart - or the average one - has a caloric content of 317 kcal and contains 27 grams of sugars, 7.8 grams of fat, of which 5 are saturated (Chemical composition of foods by Crea).
An 84 gram slice of donut - the one cut on average by Italian mothers for their children - has a caloric content of about 310 kcal, 20 grams of sugar, 14.3 grams of fat, of which about 5.3 saturated (data Fatsecret).
The snack contains about 6.5 grams of fat, of which 3 are saturated, 9 grams of sugars, for an average calorie content per serving of 157 kcal.
On balance, a slice of tart has on average twice the calories, three times the sugars and one and a half times the saturated fat of a snack.
Furthermore, the advantage of snacks which, as the Italian Food Union points out, on an industrial scale are the “descendants” of tart, margherita cake and donut for similar ingredients and similar preparation process, are the indications on the label.
For the nutritionist Valeria Del Balzo "a slice of jam tart or donut - excellent alternatives for the snack of the youngest even with respect to snacks - should however be" calibrated ", which is not done, based on age and needs caloric and above all differentiated in terms of weight between an adult or juvenile consumption.
The plus of packaged desserts such as snacks is precisely that of having a predetermined portion, with a lower intake of nutrients and calories capable of giving life to a nutritionally balanced product to be consumed 1-2 times a week, which can represent one of the nutritional alternatives for the Italian snack.
Snacks are characterized by a modest calorie content, ranging from 110 of the simplest up to 180 of the richest, and cover on average between 6 and 7% of the amount of energy recommended every day for children and teenagers, in line with the daily energy quota of the afternoon snack and the mid-morning snack ".
