Cholesterol

But that didn't stop an eager public from touting an enticing, if oversimplified, conclusion: Eating all day is good for you.

Subtleties of the original research were often lost by the time the message hit the streets.

"Popularizing the research helps to sell a lot of diet books," Levitsky says.

Today, there's still no scientific consensus about the wisdom of spreading meals throughout the day.

"The science that suggests eating small meals is advantageous is somewhat old," Brownell says.

"That doesn't mean the conclusions are wrong.

It just means there has not been a lot of work on it lately." Without strong counter-advice, then, we continued to nosh.

The most recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention survey reports that Americans get about 21% of their daily calories solely from snack beverages and foods.

In 2005, Americans spent about $61.4 billion on snack foods — up $3.6 billion over the previous five years, according to a report by Packaged Facts, a publishing division of MarketResearch.com.

And according to the Snaxpo report, snack sales overall increased by 3.2% in 2006 over the previous year.

Snacks in "healthy" categories — a wide range that includes granola bars and better-for-you versions of standard favorites — led the increase with a 6.4% jump.

Overall, "indulgent" snack...

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