Article is from WeChat public account: translation (ID: yeeyancom) , author: Kate Spicer, title figure from: Pxhere

The answer is no! We like to eat between meals, which makes Britain the fattest country in Europe -we have lost the feeling of real hunger.

At the end of the summer, 49-year-old Ali Katrar posted a message on Twitter to celebrate his blood sugar falling below the critical value, which means that he is no longer diabetic at this time.

Technically, snacks are small amounts of food between meals. Ali Catral said that it could be an apple, a handful of raw almonds, or “my favorite–chocolate milk. Industrially made snacks are the things I eat the most because it’s so easy to get them. And it’s addictive right away. “

The truth is, Experts don’t think there are healthy snacks, even if you eat bananas or nuts. Unless you are really hungry when you eat, however, many of us have lost true hunger.

A report released by Mintel earlier this year on consumer snack consumption states that Only half of people are motivated by snacks, and the rest are driven by ” Desire is driven by “emotional needs” and “snacks as an antidote to a busy lifestyle.” So are our endless snacks the root cause of the surge in obesity?

Sir Davis also seems to think so in her Childhood Farewell Report. She suggested snacks be wrapped in paper like cigarettes, banned from eating on public transport, and banned from eating junk food anywhere near the school.

The UK is now the country with the largest population of overweight and obesity in Europe and the country that eats snacks most often. Mintel ’s report shows that 66% of British adults eat snacks at least once a day, and 37% of people aged 25 to 34 say they often eat snacks instead of a decent meal .

In the United States, nearly 10% of people have never eaten a decent meal. Snacks have become a big business and it is estimated that the global snack market is valued at approximately $ 16.937 billion.

Dr. Essam Mahout, a cardiologist at the Lister Hospital and a sponsor of the Sugar Initiative, says people do n’t need snacks: “ People only need two to three meals a day. Get enough nutrition and energy needs -provided they eat real food. The food industry deliberately creates highly addictive, highly processed junk food to encourage people to overspend. I tell me Patients, if there are five or more chemical components in the package, do not eat. “

The food industry has responded to the surge of critics and healthy eating by investing in so-called “healthy” snacks that add fiber, vitamins and reducing sugars. By 2025, the size of the global healthy snack market is expected to reach nearly $ 33 billion. However, if you look closely at the ingredients of these snacks, you will find that many of them are unhealthy.

Is it a childish act to blame the crisis on obesity for snacking? Nutrition consultant and writer Ian Mabo said: “Snacks are suitable for some people. But in general, although snacks are used by the food industry as a solution to hunger, hunger has never existed.” >

Snack slogans for the food industry, it’s like if we don’t eat gas every two hours, it’s nonsense. Recall what people said in the 1960s and 1970s, when the obesity rate was between 1% and 2%, people were not encouraged to eat snacks,Because it can destroy appetite, appetite can be enjoyed.

Eating snacks frequently will force the body to continuously process these foods, and then the insulin in the body will be affected. Kim Pearson, a nutrition therapist who specializes in weight loss, boldly pointed out that Eating frequency is not only a question of calories, but also a continuous factor that triggers the insulin response. Most of her clients are obese and pre-diabetic, so she sympathizes with people who eat for reasons other than hunger.

Of course, snacks also have their place. If you’ve had a decent lunch, but don’t go home until late, don’t starve yourself for not snacking. However, there is a difference between snacking consciously and snacking unconsciously, and most people are eating snacks uncontrollably. Even those foods that look healthy, such as breakfast cookies or energy bars, or even eating things like bananas or raisins, can raise your blood sugar and trigger an insulin response.

This is where it started to cause controversy. Isn’t banana good? Of course, eating bananas occasionally is not a problem, but If you have been eating foods rich in carbohydrates and causing high blood sugar levels, it may cause insulin resistance and diabetes. The wise choice is that foods that contain healthy fats, such as olive or sugar-free nut butter, are unlikely to significantly raise blood sugar levels.

48 years old