The NPD Group, an organization that tracks snack food consumption habits for both kids and adults, found that kids eat fresh fruit more often than any other snack-oriented food. It is the top snack food consumed by boys and girls between ages 2 and 12. And, snacking is an important role in a child's life, much more than adults, so this is good news. Children under 18 years of age consume snack foods 23 percent more often than adults. The average child eats snack foods about 530 times per year compared to the average adult who only eats them about 430 times per year. Here's what the study found:
Top Snack Foods for Kids:

Girls Ages 2-7
.1. Fresh Fruit
.2. Yogurt
.3. Gum
.4. Potato Chips
.5. Chocolate Candy

Boys Ages 2-7
.1. Fresh Fruit
.2. Yogurt
.3. Potato Chips
.4. Chocolate Candy
.5. Cookies

Girls Ages 8-12
.1. Fresh Fruit
.2. Gum
.3. Potato Chips
.4. Ice Cream
.5. Chocolate Candy

Boys Ages 8-12
.1. Fresh Fruit
.2. Potato Chips
.3. Gum
.4. Ice Cream
.5. Chocolate Candy .