• Question: how many sweets or crisps sould eat a week or day?

    Asked by to Andrei, Ekbal, Gemma, Helen, Ruth on 24 Jun 2014. This question was also asked by .
    • Photo: Helen Gath

      Helen Gath answered on 24 Jun 2014:

      Very good question, especially when there is so much advertising and temptation around us, it is very easy to over indulge. Sometimes even understanding what a balanced diet is can be difficult!

      The ‘treats’ that you indulge on really varies depending on your lifestyle, how active you are an exercise you take. For example, rowers can consume around 3000 calorie a day because of all their sport, but the average male needs 2000-2500 per day. We all need some fat and sugar in our lives, but how much? Fruit already contains some sugar, there’s fat in meats and sauces….there is a lot hidden in our foods before we even reach for chocolate.

      For chocolate, I would say one bar of something a day is fine, as well as a packet of crisps. Especially at your age when you’re running out on school breaks, growing. It is very hard to tell you personally what you can and can’t eat. Up until 18 years old or so, your body is still growing, which means you need lots of energy, and using so much of your brain power at school also needs fuel. As long as your diet is balanced (lots of healthy complex carbs, lean meat, fish, fruit and veg, and of course some fats from dairy…or chocolate, then you’re ok. If your body weight stays stable and you have a healthy BMI (see http://www.nhs.uk/Tools/Pages/Healthyweightcalculator.aspx)
      then that’s what is important.

      Learn about food and nutrition, read labels, be curious about where your food comes from. But maintain a healthy relationship with food. Enjoy it! Everyone may say this, but it truly is a case of everything in moderation.

    • Photo: Andrei Luchici

      Andrei Luchici answered on 24 Jun 2014:

      I totally agree with Helen on this one! As a teenager your body needs a lot of energy to develop, however, crisps and other snacks like them do more harm than good. They are a very high in fats and a very poor source of good carbs. I would recommend you stay away from them as much as possible (you will not become obese if you have a bag of crisps once in a while). Instead try to chose more healthy snacks like fruits and dark chocolate 🙂

    • Photo: Ruth Nottingham

      Ruth Nottingham answered on 24 Jun 2014:

      Hi
      There isn’t a totally right answer for this, as you can see from what the other scientists said.
      Personally on a normal day I eat 1 packet of crisps a day and 1 chocolate bar.
      But there are some days when I’m really hungry or I need lots of energy so I will eat more.
      Also when I was younger my parents used to have Friday night as sweet night where we could have a treat and eat more sugary food!
      All foods are fine in moderation, it is just complicated sometimes to work out how much that means for each individual person.

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