Benefits of snacking in older Americans.

Objective: Because energy intakes decline with age, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the influence of snacking on energy intakes and energy density in older adults.

Design: Twenty-four-hour dietary recall data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999-2002 were used to compare the diets of snackers and nonsnackers.

Subjects: This study included 2,002 adults aged 65 years and older.