BODY WATCH : The Snack Report : Most of us (98% to be exact) nibble between meals. Problem is, we’re not going bananas over <i> healthy </i> edibles.

Faster than you can tame that 3 o’clock cookie urge, snacking is shedding its wicked reputation. Most people snack, persuading dietitians to adopt a new “If-you-can’t-beat-’em” tact.

Instead of talking about only “three squares,” nutrition experts such as Audrey Cross of Columbia University are beginning to talk about three nutritious meals with healthy snacks in between.

The real chore, of course, is persuading people to choose healthy snacks.

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The Premise: “Although there has been increased attention to the importance of snacking, few studies have examined snacking,” says Cross, an associate professor of public health at Columbia’s Institute of Human Nutrition. So her team set out to do so, asking 1,800 adults and children to tell when they snacked and what they ate during a 24-hour period.

There were four groups: adults 18 to 54, adults 55 and older, parents who answered for their children (kindergarten through sixth grade), and fifth- and sixth-grade students who answered for themselves.

The survey was funded by Chiquita Brands, which wanted to find out where bananas and other fruits figured in the snacking scheme.

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The Results: Bananas and other fruits figured nowhere near first place.

“At one time or another during the day, 98% of people snacked,” Cross says. The elderly were least likely to snack, children most likely.

Snacking two or three times a day was common for all groups. Nearly 30% of the fifth- and sixth-graders snacked four times a day.

Afternoon is the preferred snack time--except for seniors, who munched more at night. Mornings were the least common time for snacking. Seniors and young children often preferred fruit snacks in the morning, but the other groups picked sweets and baked goods.

In the afternoon, the most popular foods were salty or crunchy snacks such as chips, popcorn, pretzels and nuts.

At night, ice cream topped the list for children and ranked high with adults as well.

Home was the favorite snack spot, followed by work, school and friends’ homes, according to the study published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Assn.

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The Lesson: “The driving factor in choice of a snack was taste--not convenience or nutrition,” Cross says. Even respondents who said they were concerned about health or who considered themselves healthy chose snacks loaded with fat, calories and salt.

Think of snack time, Cross tells people, as an opportunity to fit in the fruits and vegetables and other nutrients most diets lack.

Put less emphasis on flavors. “Everything we eat these days is flavored, even water,” Cross complains.

With practice, snackers can learn to like healthy snacks.

So exactly how to clean up your snack act?

Reducing exposure to fat can reduce desire for fat-filled snacks, says Richard Mattes, a scientist at Monell Chemical Senses Center, a Philadelphia nonprofit research facility. “If you eat a lot of high-fat foods, you will prefer high-fat.” By reducing exposure to fat, desire can decline after about eight to 12 weeks, he says.

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Advice From the Pros

Dietitians are often stereotyped as vegetable-chomping, fat-conscious straight arrows. We found nine local dietitians who confessed to their shortcomings and offered professional advice on surviving the snack attack.

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Martin Yadrick: Registered dietitian at Computrition, a Chatsworth nutrition software firm; American Dietetic Assn. spokesman.

Professional advice: dried fruit, baked (not fried) tortilla chips, salsa, shredded wheat-type cereals.

Personal preference: pretzels (“I can eat plenty without worrying too much about calories.”), Craisins (sweetened dried cranberries from Ocean Spray being test-marketed outside California.)

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June Palacio: Professor of nutritional science at Pepperdine University, Malibu

Professional advice: pretzels, crisp fresh fruit, nuts (dry-roasted, unsalted) can be eaten in moderation. “I think people should enjoy candy once in a while--things like hard candy, chewy things like Jujyfruits, although the dentists will probably raise their eyebrows.”

Personal preference: apples, Haagen-Dazs vanilla/Ben & Jerry’s Rainforest Crunch ice cream.

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Peggy Mancini: Registered dietitian at the cardiac unit, Good Samaritan Hospital, Los Angeles.

Professional advice: vanilla wafers, fig bars, ginger snaps, bagels instead of doughnuts, nonfat frozen yogurt.

Personal preference: movie theater popcorn (“I can’t resist the aroma. I get a small container of regular popcorn--no butter flavor, no salt--and eat it slowly. With it, I have a diet soda.”).

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Bettye Nowlin: Calabasas registered dietitian and ADA spokeswoman.

Professional advice: lower-fat instead of regular cinnamon rolls, air-popped popcorn, SnackWell’s cookies instead of regular cookies, graham crackers, a piece of leftover chicken, baked or broiled without the skin.

Personal preference: fruit in the car, especially bananas (“It helps me hit the door not feeling so starved.”).

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Rosanna Chu: Registered dietitian, hospitality service manager at Santa Monica Hospital Medical Center.

Professional advice: cappuccino without sugar, tropical iced tea, soft pretzel, Diet Snapple, oatmeal cookie instead of a sugar cookie or macadamia nut, dried apricots, dried pineapple with no sugar added.

Personal preference: rice cakes, oatmeal flavor.

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Diane Grabowski-Nepa: Registered dietitian at Pritikin Longevity Center, Santa Monica.

Professional advice: nonfat yogurt, fresh fruit, whole-grain nonfat muffin, low-sodium V-8 juice, sugar-free, fat-free cocoa.

Personal preference: “I’ll bake up a batch of red new potatoes and eat them cold. You can add salsa or mustard.” Sweet potatoes (“A very good source of Vitamin E and especially good if you have a sweet tooth.”).

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Gail Frank: Professor of nutrition at California State University, Long Beach; ADA spokeswoman.

Professional advice: oatmeal-raisin cookies instead of chocolate chip or macadamia nut.

Personal preference: large, hot unsalted pretzels. “Maybe once a year I have a piece of chocolate cheesecake.” Potato skin appetizers (“They do have some redeeming value--the skin with its fiber. If you get these appetizers, have a lot of people and share.”).

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Janet Lepke: Beverly Hills registered dietitian and California Dietetic Assn. spokeswoman.

Professional advice: “If you have a sugar craving, try Gummi Bears. They take a long time to chew and they are not that calorically dense.”

Personal preference: Guacamole and low-fat tortilla chips, fat-free chocolate pudding, Ben & Jerry’s low-fat Chocolate Fudge Brownie frozen yogurt.

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Edwina Williams: Registered dietitian, University of California Cooperative Extension.

Professional advice: dried fruits, fresh fruit, fruits canned in their own juice, the new mega-muffins (but only if you share).

Personal preference: dried cereals, such as Cheerios, “that aren’t sugary.” Air-popped popcorn sprinkled with a little Parmesan cheese.