Page 28 - aruba-today-20190910

A28 SCIENCE
Tuesday 10 sepTember 2019
Americans love snacks. What does that mean for their health?

By CANDICE CHOI “Who knows how much
AP Food & Health Writer food is a Band-Aid for those
NEW YORK (AP) — Ameri- issues,” Egan said.
cans are addicted to For their part, food compa-
snacks, and food experts nies have moved to capi-
are paying closer attention talize on Americans’ love
to what that might mean of snacks and stretched
for health and obesity. the definition of the word.
Eating habits in the U.S. Dunkin Donuts’ former CEO
have changed significant- has said the chain’s sand-
ly in recent decades, and wiches should be consid-
packaged bars, chips and ered snacks, not lunch.
sweets have spread into When Hershey bought a
every corner of life. In the meat jerky company, the
late 1970s, about 40 per- candy company said it
cent of American adults wanted to expand its of-
said they didn’t have any ferings across the “snack-
snacks during the day. By ing continuum “ to include
2007, that figure was just 10 more nutritious options.
percent. Health experts’ recommen-
To get a better handle on dations on snacking vary.
the implications of differing Children may need more
eating patterns, U.S. health snacks and to eat more fre-
officials are reviewing sci- This Saturday, Sept. 7, 2019 photo shows items in a vending machine in New York. quently. For adults, many
entific research on how Associated Press dietitians saying what works
eating frequency affects more accessible. It also has sugary snacks like cakes Beyond nutrition, health of- for one person might not
health, including weight become more socially ac- and cookies account for 12 ficials should also consider for another.
gain and obesity. The anal- ceptable to snack more percent, the study said. what emotional or mental Hunnes, the UCLA dietitian,
ysis is intended to gauge places: at work meetings Complicating matters, health benefits might be recommends sticking to
the broader spectrum of and while walking, driving snack options are also con- lost when people move minimally processed op-
possibilities, including fast- or shopping for clothes. tinuing to broaden beyond away from meals, said tions like fruit or nuts when
ing. But snacking, grazing “We live in a 24/7 food the standard chips and Sophie Egan, who writes snacking. But she acknowl-
and “mini meals” are likely culture now,” said Dana cookies. about American food cul- edged the advice could
to be among the factors Hunnes, a senior dietitian at “Manufacturers have tried ture. Meals can be a time sound like it’s coming from
considered, given how UCLA Medical Center. to tap into Americans’ con- for socially connectivity, an ivory tower, given the
they have upended the To encourage better cern for health,” said Paula she said, while snacks are prevalence of packaged
three-meals-a-day model. choices as global obesity Johnson, curator of food usually eaten alone. She snacks.
Findings could potentially rates climb, public health history at the National Mu- also noted the growth in “They’re just there, and
be reflected in the gov- officials have increasingly seum of American History in snacking may be fueled by they have a great shelf
ernment’s updated di- considered government in- Washington, D.C. the stress of busier lives. life,” she said.q
etary guidelines next year, terventions, including “junk
though any definitive rec- food” taxes.
ommendations are unlike- In Mexico, which has Experts say adapting to climate
ly. among the highest obesity
For public health officials, rates in the world, special change can pay off manifold
part of the challenge is that taxes on sugary drinks and
snacking is a broad term other foods including some
that can mean a 100-calo- snacks and candies went BERLIN (AP) — A group of leaders from mangrove forests that provide key pro-
rie apple or a 500-calorie into effect in 2014. business, politics and science called tection to vulnerable shorelines in devel-
Frappuccino. How people Last week, a study in the Monday for a massive investment in oping nations.
adjust what they eat the medical journal BMJ said adapting to climate change over the Ban cited Bangladesh’s response to two
rest of the day also varies. taxing sugary snacks in next decade, arguing it would reap sig- devastating cyclones as a good ex-
Snacks may help reduce the United Kingdom could nificant returns as countries avoid cata- ample of the way countries can adapt
hunger and overeating at have a bigger impact on strophic losses and boost their econo- to environmental threats. Following
meals, but they can also obesity rates than a tax mies. the deaths of hundreds of thousands
just push up the total calo- on sugary drinks that went The Global Commission on Adaptation, of people in 1970 and 1991, the South
ries someone consumes. into effect last year. While comprising dozens of prominent figures Asian nation reinforced flood defenses,
While there’s nothing sugary drinks account for 2 including Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates built shelters and trained volunteers,
wrong with snacks per se, percent of average calo- and former U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon, sharply cutting the death toll in subse-
they have become much ries in the United Kingdom, urged governments and businesses to quent storms.
tackle the inevitable consequences of The commission also pointed to places
climate change, in addition to trying to such as the Netherlands and London,
curb it. where protection measures have al-
In their 81-page report, the experts pro- lowed valuable land to be used that
posed investing $1.8 trillion between would otherwise have risked flooding.
2020 and 2030 in areas such as early While rich countries already have the
warning systems, infrastructure that means to invest in such measures, poor
can withstand rising sea levels and ex- nations risk losing out, the group said.
treme weather, and boosting agricul- “If we do not act now, climate change
ture to cope with droughts. Other areas will supercharge the global gap be-
they propose investing in are bolstering tween the haves and have-nots,” said
scarce water resources and improving Ban.q