Culture Of Convenience
“The dose makes the poison”
- Paracelsus (Swiss chemist and physician, c.1538)
A more convenient way to move through the world has been a bedrock of human development for millennia. Modern technology can deliver near miracles of convenience like Uber or Airbnb.
However, biological evolution is a much slower process than technological development. The human body is still optimized for activities relatively unaided by modern technology like exercise, digestion or sleeping.
What is driving the rise of snacking culture?
Snacking is a more convenient way to fuel our bodies and has become a major consumer trend.
The increase in snacking is driven by a desire to 1) incorporate more eating occasions into ever busier lives and 2) an increasing cultural appreciation for novelty.
From pickle-flavored potato chips to tandoori turmeric activated popcorn, novelties today are manufactured for a wide array of consumers who value shelf-stable, easily-transportable foods and beverages. Just as “foodies” identify with exploring restaurants, the equivalent of snack foodies have emerged seeking bold and unexpected flavor combinations in packaged snacks1.
How often are US consumers snacking?
As a refresher, I rank convenience is the 3rd most important driver of food purchase decisions for mainstream Americans. In order of priority, consumers are balancing perceived:
Taste / palatability (see Taste is Personal)
Price (see The Hidden Cost)
Convenience -> the topic of this piece
Nutritional value or general efficacy (see What is Quality? Part 1, Part 2 and Quality Distributions)
Brand identity (see Simple Stories Scale and Ramping Your Brand)
Other factors
About 90% of US consumers snack more than once daily, about 60% prefer more frequent smaller meals versus larger less frequent meals and replace at least 1 meal per day with snacks, and 7% eat no meals at all (and only snack)2.
Snacking sounds harmless but, given the vast majority of snacks are “ultra-processed food” (UPF), it’s no surprise that 65% of calories consumed by the average American are UPF3.
What are the downstream effects of increased UPF snacking?
As I discussed in What is Quality? (Part 2), recent research has indicated that UPF, often laden with sugar, refined starches and a vast number of fillers not found in common kitchens, may actually be a major cause of the rapid increase in obesity and metabolic-related disorders worldwide4. The hypothesis is that ultra-processed food causes people to eat more calories than they otherwise would if they prepared or cooked their own food, even independent of sugar or carbohydrate’s percent of the overall calories consumed.
The hypothesis was supported by a landmark study published in July 2019 by Kevin Hall at the National Institute of Health (NIH)5. A rarity in nutrition research, the study controlled for exercise (and other typical confounding variables) by having all 20 participants stay confined to an NIH building for one continuous month.
From the NIH:
“This is the first study that shows causality: ultra-processed food causes people to consume calories and gain weight. If you remove those ultra-processed foods and give them the same calories, they report liking the food just as much, yet they lose weight, and they eat fewer calories.”
Justin Butner, one of the study's volunteers, said that the experience has caused him to think of processed food differently. "Ultra-processed foods are so calorie-dense that feeling full meant I'd overeaten. Some days I would get through my meal in a few minutes without really noticing I was eating. It wasn't satisfying." In contrast, he found that unprocessed foods tend to be more filling and the process of eating more enjoyable.
Finding balance in UPF consumption
While a diet heavy on UPF (e.g. over 50%) is less than ideal, the dose indeed makes the poison. The reality is that UPF is not going away – it is just so convenient! We all eat it at varying frequencies6.
I have invested in UPF products since I believe some are better-for-you (BFY) than other products. Mainstream consumers will always want convenient, tasty and healthier snacks versus legacy snack products – and I support that step in the right direction.
Cooking and meal preparation are the unsung heroes
Taking the time to buy ingredients and prepare a meal appears to be a major antidote to the rise in chronic conditions facing the US and other countries. As further outlined in Ultra-Processed People, that single behavior change could dramatically impact health outcomes worldwide.
The problem is cooking takes a lot more time than consuming UPF. Even meal preparation without cooking, like pouring out unprocessed ingredients into a salad bowl7, takes more time and advance preparation. Modern services to make cooking even more efficient, like Blue Apron or Hello Fresh, have not made cooking cool again.
Most decisions about time come down to identifying priorities and following through on them8. Despite the persistent rise of snacking culture, I believe that an increasing number of consumers will realize that it is worth the extra time to cook or prepare simple meals at home. As such, I have invested in platforms that provide both nutritious, mostly non-UPF foods and thoughtful guidance on how they should be prepared (e.g. Seatopia, Nurture Life).
For a summary of recent research on the impact of ultra-processed food, see Ultra-Processed People (van Tulleken, 2023)
I believe that a select group of NOVA 4 ultra-processed foods could be very healthy, perhaps even better choices than poorer quality unprocessed foods (e.g. orange juice). For example, protein powders with minimal additives (e.g. Truvani), textured proteins made without emulsifiers, modified starches or natural flavors (e.g. Abbot’s protein), or even flavored sparkling water.
My 2 personal favorites for salad are raw broccoli slaw and cauliflower rice
For a longer discussion on this topic, see All-in On Balance