Contribution of dietary snacking behaviours to discretionary energy intake and anthropometric measures in Australian adults: A comparison using an objective vs subjective definition for snacking.

Objective snacking energy contributed more to core food groups than discretionary, was not associated with anthropometric measures, and contributed less to total discretionary energy than the evening meal. When snacking was defined subjectively, more than half of snacking energy was discretionary, suggesting that adults are more likely to perceive discretionary foods as snacks. Differences between snacking definitions means that associations between self-reported snacking and diet or health outcomes, should be interpreted with caution.