The First Steps With Snacking

Eating between meals, and what makes a snack useful rather than simply extra.

Key takeaways

• Free sugar limit, adults: 30g a day
• High sugar on a label: more than 22.5g per 100g
• Most useful single change: Choose snacks with protein or fibre, which actually fill you.
• Commonest mistake: Grazing continuously rather than eating defined snacks.
• See a doctor if any of the signs under "When to speak to a doctor" below apply to you.

Why bother

Snacks are where a large share of free sugar and saturated fat enters the UK diet, and also where fibre and protein gaps are most easily filled.

Start here

Start with two. Add the rest once those have stopped taking effort.

• Choose snacks with protein or fibre, which actually fill you
• Keep fruit, nuts and yoghurt visible and biscuits out of sight

Then add these

Once the basics are in place, add these.

• Decide on the snack before you are hungry
• Read the per-100g column when comparing packets

The numbers, in one place

Common early mistakes

• Grazing continuously rather than eating defined snacks
• Drinking calories, which satisfy less than the same energy eaten
• Cereal bars assumed to be healthy without checking the label

Where to go next

• Understanding Snacking: A Plain-English Explainer
• Snacking: What to Do, in Order
• Snacking — the reference entry
• The Evidence on Vegetarian and Vegan Diets, Without the Hype
• What the Guidance Really Says About Cooking for One

When to speak to a doctor

See a GP if you are constantly hungry alongside excessive thirst, frequent urination or unexplained weight loss, which can indicate diabetes. If eating feels out of control or is followed by compensatory behaviour, contact your GP or the Beat helpline on 0808 801 0677.

Where this comes from

• NHS — Healthier snacks
• NHS — Sugar: the facts

How this page was put together

Every figure, recommendation and warning above is taken from the guidance named in Where this comes from. Nothing on this page is inferred, summarised or generalised beyond what those bodies publish: where they give a number, it is their number, and where they are silent, so are we. Pages are rebuilt whenever the underlying record changes. Sign-off by a named clinician, where it has happened, is shown at the top of the page along with the date.

Medical disclaimer

This article is general information, not medical advice. It cannot account for your own history, medication or circumstances. Always speak to a GP, pharmacist or another qualified health professional before making changes that affect your treatment, and never delay seeking medical advice because of something you have read here. In an emergency, call 999.