Young, affluent adults snack on almonds, fruits: Survey

A whopping 97% of young and affluent Indians prefer to snack on almonds, fruits and other dry fruits when they are happy, a recent survey said.

"For majority of young and affluent adults snacking is an expression of happiness. When young and affluent Indians are happy, 97% of them prefer to snack on almonds, followed by fruits and other dry fruits," a survey by market research company Ipsos said.

The survey interviewed a total of 3,037 affluent urban men and women between 18-35 years in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chandigarh, Nagpur, Bhopal and Coimbatore.

Among cities, Bangalore (99%), Chandigarh (99%) and Coimbatore (99%) prefer almonds for snacks when happy, the survey showed.

"Young and affluent adults see their snacks as something yummy, fun, hot and crispy, while also wanting it to be healthy, nutritious and energy inducing, indicating a positive shift in mindset towards healthy snacking," it said.

The findings also revealed that 30% of people tend to snack more when under stress, even when they are not hungry.

Interestingly, it found that Mumbai, Chandigarh and Bhopal are least inclined to snack under stress while Bangalore and Hyderabad are most susceptible to stress snacking.

The survey further said that unlike popular perception, 82% of young and affluent adults polled said they do not feel the guilt after snacking.

Mumbai leads with 92% saying they do not feel guilty after snacking, followed by Chandigarh (86%) and Coimbatore (85%).

"This study indicates a trend towards healthy snacking with increasing number of young and affluent adults in urban centres seeing long-term value in maintaining a healthy lifestyle that includes healthy snacking," Delhi-based nutritionist Ritika Samaddar said.