Author: Alexander Bruni
Time for reading: ~1
minutes
Last Updated:
August 08, 2022
Although weight loss is not achieved by introducing snacks, it is a healthier diet, according to a serious Canadian study.
A balanced diet is recommended by nutritionists to maintain a good figure and health. According to them, eating at approximately equal intervals keeps blood sugar levels stable, prevents the appearance of "wolf hunger" and even helps to lose weight.
However, US researchers claim that the snack has a sabotaging effect in a regimen aimed at reducing weight.
A study by the Prevention Center at the Fred Hutchiston Cancer Research Institute in Seattle included 123 overweight and obese women between the ages of 50 and 75 who participated in a special program to reduce weight and study the effects of diet and physical activity in the prevention of breast cancer.
Analyzing the data, the researchers found that women who ate between breakfast and lunch lost 7% of their weight over a period of a year. In contrast, those who missed the morning snack lost 11%.
According to experts, the beneficial effect of the intermediate meal in the first half of the day is lost due to the relatively small interval between breakfast and lunch. According to Ann McKiernan, director of the center, this habit is rather unnecessary, because the body can not feel hunger between these two main meals.
Of all 97% of women who eat extra breakfast, those nineteen percent who eat between 10 and 11 o'clock are more likely to eat too often during the rest of the day.
The institute's experts are of the opinion that nutrition is becoming more and more "meaningless". People eat less and less to provide their body with the energy it needs to function, and more because of other habits. According to them, this requires the creation of new healthy eating regimes that eliminate the intake of excess calories.
Although weight loss is not achieved by introducing snacks, it is a healthier diet, the researchers emphasize. People who adhere to a balanced diet consume more fruits, vegetables and whole grains, thus consuming more of the fiber useful for the intestinal tract.
The study was published in the American Dietetic Society this month.