In today's fast-paced world, snacks are considered almost a necessity. However, a recent study reveals that a significant portion of the population, which actually tries to maintain a healthy diet, inadvertently sabotages them by making a crucial mistake: choosing unhealthy snacks. We've used ChatGPT to illustrate how much this practice ruins your entire diet:
The study, conducted by researchers from King's College London School of Life Sciences and ZOE, sheds light on the snack consumption habits of 854 people who participated in the ZOE PREDICT study. The findings, published in the European Journal of Nutrition, highlight the glaring gap between the health of meals and snacks consumed by nearly half of participants.
Surprisingly, research shows that while many people pay close attention to healthy meals, they often opt for unhealthy snacks. This inconsistency in dietary choices has a detrimental impact on vital health indicators, including blood sugar and fat levels. The study highlights that matching meal health with that of snacks can be a simple but effective strategy for improving overall health.
Dr. Sarah Berry of King's College, who serves as chief scientist at ZOE, emphasizes the importance of making smarter choices of snacks. "Given that 95% of us snack, and that almost a quarter of our calories come from snacks, replacing unhealthy snacks like cookies, crisps and cakes with healthy snacks like fruit and nuts is a really simple way to improve health."
The analysis reveals that snacking is a common habit in the UK, with 24% of daily energy consumption coming from snacking. On average, people who snack consume 2.28 snacks per day. It should be noted that healthy snacks, such as nuts and fresh fruits, positively affect body weight and metabolic health, reducing hunger.
A significant proportion (26%) of the participants reported that they consumed mainly meals on the one hand, but together with harmful snacks on the other. These snacks, often made up of highly processed foods and sugary treats, have been associated with negative health markers such as a higher BMI, higher visceral fat mass, and increased post-meal triglycerides, all risk factors for metabolic diseases like stroke, cardiovascular disease, and obesity.
The study highlights the timing of snacking as a crucial factor in health outcomes: snacking after 21 p.m. was found to be particularly harmful, as people who indulged at this late hour tended to consume foods high in energy, high in fat and sugars.
The study demonstrates how important it is to maintain not only balanced meals, but also not to be tempted by harmful processed snacks between them, preferring as many natural options as possible, such as fruit.
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