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With busy families having trouble fitting in three healthy meals a day, snacking has become a way of life for many kids. Children between the ages of 8 and 12 snack almost 50 per cent more than older adults, according to The Eating Patterns in Canada, a recent survey conducted by market research firm NDP Group. While snacking can be healthy, nibbling on prepackaged snack foods can jeopardize your child's nutrient intake and health.

Encouraging kids to choose nutritious snacks -- at home and school -- can have a significant impact on their weight, hunger, energy level, mood and ultimately, their health. Young children have small stomachs, so they need to eat frequently to obtain the nutrients they need. Older kids need the added calories to fuel growth and development, and their activity level. Because children are growing and active, they need more calories per pound of body weight than adults. It's estimated that children consume as much as half their day's calories from snacks.

Many kids, especially teens who eat away from home more often, don't consume perfectly balanced meals. Snacks can help them meet daily recommended intakes for fruit, vegetables, whole grains, protein and dairy products. Snacks are an important way for growing bodies to get key nutrients like calcium, iron and zinc.

Eating between-meal snacks can also be an important weight-control strategy for kids. Choosing the right snack can help curb overeating at meals by keeping blood sugar levels stable, preventing kids from feeling overly hungry at mealtime. But, of course, it all depends on what snacks your kids are munching.

The healthiest snacks contain carbohydrate for energy, some protein and fat for staying power, as well as calcium and/or iron. Ideally, snack foods should have a low glycemic index. The glycemic index (GI) is a scale that ranks carbohydrate-rich foods by how fast they raise blood-sugar levels compared to glucose (the simplest form of sugar). Snacks with a low GI release sugar more slowly into the bloodstream, helping to keep kids feeling full and energized longer. Low-GI foods include grainy breads, high-fibre cereals, apples, citrus, grapes, pears, nuts, seeds, milk, yogurt and soy milk.

Many of the snack foods kids eat often -- cereal bars, white toast, low-fibre cereals, pretzels and sugary drinks -- have a high glycemic index. They're digested and absorbed into the bloodstream quickly, which can trigger hunger and overeating. A U.S. study, conducted among obese teenage boys, found that when boys were given a high-GI breakfast and lunch, they consumed 81 per cent more calories in the five-hour period after lunch, compared to when they were fed low-GI meals.

Smart snacking

Children should consume a snack between breakfast and lunch, and between lunch and dinner to prevent large peaks and dips in energy. Encourage children to eat snacks at the table, rather than in front of the television. Doing so helps keep food the focus and prevents kids from overeating because they're distracted. The following snacks can help keep kids nourished, energized and feeling satiated.

Fruit and nut butter: Serve sliced apple with almond or peanut butter. The protein and monounsaturated fat in nuts keeps kids feeling full longer.

Trail mix:Make your own with sunflower seeds, almonds, dried cranberries, dried apricots, raisins and Shreddies.

Mini pita pockets with hummus: Hummus, made from chickpeas, is a low-GI food that supplies carbohydrate, a little protein and fat, B vitamins and iron. To boost nutrition, choose whole-grain pitas or crackers.

Hummus and raw vegetables: Keep baby carrots, cucumber

slices, broccoli florets and red

pepper strips ready to eat in the

refrigerator.

Baked tortilla chips and bean dip: Make your own bean dip by mixing one cup of low-fat refried beans with ½ to one cup of salsa.

Fruit smoothie: Whip together banana, frozen berries, a splash of orange juice with yogurt, low-fat milk or soy milk in the blender. Or, try a milkshake made with banana and chocolate milk powder.

Fresh fruit and yogurt: If kids don't like yogurt, pair fruit with a part-skim cheese string for calcium and protein.

Low fat granola bars: Look for bars with at least two grams of fibre, zero grams of trans fat, and no more than 1.5 grams of saturated fat and 10 grams of sugar. For a more filling snack, pair a granola bar with a glass of low-fat milk or soy beverage.

Bowl of whole-grain cereal and milk: Choose a ready-to-eat cereal that's made with whole grains (e.g. whole wheat, oats, flaxseed, brown rice) and provides at least five grams of fibre per

serving.

Instant bean-soup cups. This is a great snack for kids to boost their intake of vegetarian protein and fibre. Try President's Choice Blue Menu or Nile Spice varieties.

Limit these snack foods

Soft drinks: A study published last month in the Journal of Pediatrics followed more than 2,300 nine-year-old girls for 10 years and found that, compared to other beverages, increasing soft drink consumption predicted the greatest increase in body mass index, not to mention a significant decrease in calcium intake. If kids are gulping soft drinks regularly, excess calories can cause weight gain. Larger than life serving sizes make matters worse. Today, soft drinks are sold in 20-ounce (591 ml) bottles, a portion that serves up 230 calories and almost 14 teaspoons of sugar.

Research has also linked soft drinks to increased risk of bone fracture in teenage girls, possibly because soft drinks displace calcium and vitamin D-rich milk. Carbonated soft drinks also contain phosphoric acid, an additive that may upset the body's calcium balance when consumed in large quantities. Limit access of soft drinks at home. For older children, discuss limits for consumption both within and outside the home.

Too much fruit juice: Excessive sugar from large portions of fruit juice can lead to weight problems in older children. In younger children, excessive juice consumption can fill small stomachs, leaving less room for more nutrient dense foods. Preschoolers should drink no more than four ounces (125 ml) of unsweetened juice per day; older kids no more than six to eight ounces (175-250 ml). Encourage children to drink water, milk or calcium-enriched soy beverages when thirsty.

Snacks that contain trans fat: Many brands of packaged cookies, pastries, snack crackers, even some granola bars are made with partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, a source of trans fat. A steady intake of trans fat can raise LDL (bad) cholesterol and lower HDL (good) cholesterol and may increase the risk of Type 2 diabetes. Read the Nutrition Facts box on packaged snack foods; choose those that are trans-fat free.

Leslie Beck, a Toronto-based dietitian at the Medcan Clinic,

is on CTV's Canada AM every Wednesday. Visit her website at lesliebeck.com.