Women and snacks

Women spend two and a half hours a day talking or thinking about food, a survey commissioned by Nature Valley in the UK has revealed.

Researchers found thinking about snacks, how hungry they are, planning meals and even talking about it with friends and colleagues means women have food their mind for a large chunk of their day.
On top of that, women will also say they feel hungry four times all day.

But in comparison, men will spend just under two hours a day thinking or talking about food.
It also emerged that almost one in five women have fallen out with someone over the amount of time they spend chatting about how hungry they are or what they are going to eat, with another 28 per cent being told by others they go on about it too much.

Paul White, marketing manager at Nature Valley, the company that commissioned the research to launch its pop-up protein bar in Soho, London, says: “The study shows that everyone has moments when they feel a little bit peckish or they are planning what they are going to eat that evening but when you add it all up, it’s staggering to think just how much time you spend with food on the brain.

“It would appear that, when you are feeling hungry or craving a snack, food can be the only thing you can think or talk about. For some, this is so extreme, they have been told they talk too much about food, or have even fallen out with someone over it. Planning to have a snack can help you keep those hunger pangs at bay, and hopefully mean you spend more time on what you should be doing and less time on food.”
The Nature Valley study, of 3000 men and women, revealed the average woman will spend one hour and 26 minutes thinking about food every day, and 59 minutes talking about it to their friends or colleagues.
That’s a total of two hours and 25 minutes with food on their mind every day – almost 17 hours a week.
But men will spend just one hour and 59 minutes a day talking or thinking about food – less than 14 hours a week.

The study also revealed that more than half of women even believe food, snacking and hunger is one of the most common conversations to take place in their workplace.

Women start to crave a snack by midday, with the average female tucking into two snacks such as crisps, biscuits, fruit or chocolate every day; 56 per cent of women even keep a snack stored in their handbag or desk drawer ready for the moment a craving hits them.

Paul White, marketing manager at Nature Valley adds: ‘’When it comes to planning a snack, more than 30 per cent of consumers surveyed said the most important attribute is taste, with over half saying they plan to snack at the same time every day. Our new protein bar is the perfect solution for the daily snacking ritual in that it tastes great and is ideal for a varied and balanced diet.”