Snack attack

Like many people, fighting the urge to snack is a daily battle for me. If I were being honest I would admit that while I know the better choices to make (carrots, celery, etc.), cutting up veggies often takes a back seat to the simple ease of delving into a bag of pretzels or popcorn. According to a recent report from Nielsen, my snacking habits seem to be on track with those of most U.S. consumers. For instance, Nielsen reports that despite increased health and wellness interest and concerns, 60% of U.S. respondents say they are eating just as many snacks as they did last year. What’s more, 91% of us snack at least once per day with 62% snacking once or twice per day. And, did you know the reasons men and woman give for snacking vastly differ? Nielsen found more women occasionally binge snack (34%) compared to men (29%). Women also snack for stress relief (22%), boredom (23%) or as an indulgence (48%) while men snack to improve their mood (14%), for enjoyment (40%) and satisfy hunger between meals (49%). Any guesses as to the No. 1 time both men and women love to snack? Brownie points to anyone who answered, “while watching TV.” Men are more likely to snack while working (31%), whereas women are more likely to snack while using their smartphones, laptops or tablets (54%). Women prefer sweets chocolate, candy or cookies (40%) whereas men prefer salty treats like pretzels and chips (32%). Then there’s the data getting many a grocer nervous -- snacking seems to be on the rise as a meal replacement. Some 24% of men and 22% of women reported snacking as a meal alternative to breakfast (6%), lunch (12%) and dinner (6%). But what I’d like to know is the “why” of this last piece. In this day of frozen and microwavable options are we so time pressed that when meal times rolls around it’s easier to grab a little something than make ourselves a more substantial meal? Have we gotten that lazy? I’m not sure what the answer is, but if I was a grocer I’d be working hard to figure it out.