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Snacks. We all love them. But we all get fat from eating them, right?

Not for the elderly:

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - Jo Spann used to be a steak-and-potatoes, three-squares-a-day type, but as the years have gone by, the 72-year-old now finds herself snacking “all the time.” A full meal now is usually a once-a-day event. Researchers say such snacking is OK - in fact, regular nibbling can be good for older people.

An Auburn University study of the diets of 2,000 people aged 65 and older found that snackers ate more calories at a time in their lives when they are susceptible to weight loss and poor nutrition. Snacking provided significantly more protein, carbohydrates and fat.

So while snacking might fuel obesity for the young, it may ensure that seniors are eating enough calories, said Claire Zizza, an assistant professor of nutrition at Auburn and lead author of the study published in this month’s Journal of the American Dietetic Association.

She said several factors, including health problems, medication and changes in taste could lead to poor appetite and weight loss in seniors. Compared to 25-year-olds, 70-year-old men ate 1,000 to 1,200 fewer calories; the decline for women was between 600 to 800 calories a day, according to the study.

Zizza’s research, based on a federal nutrition survey from 1999-2002, found that snackers ate about 250 more calories than non-snackers.

This should send some waves through nursing homes. Snacks often are the only thing our residents will eat. Let them. Keep the food healthy and allow junk now and again. Now, if we could only keep OUT hands out of this snacking habit!