Weighing up graze craze

Study finds misconceptions around snacking

WOMEN who graze on food throughout the day may be more likely to gain weight than those who eat at regular mealtimes, an award-winning researcher has found.

Deakin University PhD candidate Rebecca Leech used national health data to analyse the timing and frequency of meals and snacks throughout the day and its association with meeting healthy eating guidelines.

Dr Leech, who will today be awarded the Alfred Deakin Medal for Doctoral Thesis, will be among 3700 Deakin graduands receiving their degrees over the next two weeks.

Dr Leech completed her research Understanding Adults’ Eating Patterns within Deakin’s Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition, under the supervision of National Health and Medical Research Council Career Development Fellow Professor Sarah McNaughton.

The study found misconceptions regarding the health benefits of snacking and graz- ing, and evidence of how meal timing can play an important role in body weight and cardiovascular health.

“My research found evidence of a grazing-style eating pattern, characterised by higher snack frequency and energy intake from snacks and eating later in the day,” Dr Leech said.

“This pattern was associated with higher intakes of unhealthy food in both men and women, and women who were overweight or obese were shown to be more likely to have a grazing pattern.”

Dr Leech said the research revealed how snacking throughout the day could lead to increased weight gain.

“The advice to have frequent small meals throughout the day to control hunger while increasing metabolism has been repeated so often that many have come to believe it, and with the abundance of often contradictory nutrition information out there it’s no wonder that people are confused,” she said.

Dr Leech said the results showed there should be an in- creased emphasis on the importance of regular meals to promote healthy eating, rather than snacking, and that improving the quality of snacks could be a vital intervention strategy.

Dr Leech will now seek to understand the drivers of food choice and different combinations of meals and snacks and how this might influence weight. “The main aim of my research is to basically find ways in which we can help people better meet the dietary requirements,” Dr Leech said.