Jess Haines, Family Relations and Applied Nutrition Professor as well as associate director of the Guelph Family Healthy Study at the University of Guelph, has found that parents tend to pack snacks higher in sugar for their girls lunches compared to boys lunches.  The study looked at kids between 18 months and 5 years.  Further research is needed to determine the exact reason, but several hypotheses are genetics, societal differences in how we treat our daughters and sons, and nauture or nurture - differences in snacking behaviour developed during childhood and last a lifetime. 

For more information and also healthier snack ideas, read the full article "Better snacks needed in kids' school lunches" [1].