Nielsen conducted the first global snacking study for the year ending March 2014. The study consisted of surveying 30,000 people in 60 different countries on the snacks that were consumed the most in the period of the previous 30 days. The most common response to this global snacking survey was…chocolate! The second most common snacking food was fruits at 62%, vegetables at 52% along with cookies at 51% and bread at 50%.

The U.S snacking items were less-healthy than the snacking habits in the rest of the world, with salty chips as the main snacking item followed by chocolate, cheese and cookies. Although chocolate is the globally most snacked on item, different snacking habits vary country to country. In Peru and Chile ice-cream was the main snack of choice, while yogurt was at the top of the list for Mexico and Colombia. In China the most popular snacks after chocolate and fruits are nuts, seeds and dumplings. India reported bread and sandwiches as the main snack.

In Europe, France showed a strong orientation toward dairy, with yogurt and cheese leading the responses. Cheese was also a dominant response in Russia, Greece, and the Netherlands. In Israel and Romania the responses were very healthy with vegetables at the top of the list as the most common snacked on food. To read more about global snacking habits and to see a graphic diagram broken down by global regions, click here