Not when it comes to snack foods, methinks…

I’ve been seeing these more and more…chips, pretzels, cookies and the like, sold in boxes of “100 calorie” packages. Nabisco, for example, has a variety of products packaged this way.  These are allegedly designed for more “sensible snacking” – as they make it easier to monitor your intake, and avoid eating too much.

Right?

Maybe not.  According to two studies pending publication in the October, 2008 Journal of Consumer Research, smaller packages may encourage MORE munching, not less.

As noted in this summary:

Overall, 52.1% of the participants (73 out of 140) opened a bag of crisps while watching television, with the average consumption being 49.8 grams.

Those who were weighed prior to watching television were almost twice as likely to start eating from the small bags and, if they did so, they consumed nearly twice as much as the others. Bag size was not shown to have any effect on the amount of crisps eaten by those not made to think about their weight prior to watching television.

“Small package formats may fly under the radar and prevent such internal control, thereby leading to consumption misregulation,” the researchers concluded. “Because they are also willing to pay a price premium for tempting products in small package formats, in particular, consumers with self-regulatory concerns might wind up consuming more rather than less at a higher price.”

In this article, the lead researcher of the second study, Maura Scott, confirmed that ”restrained eaters” (i.e., chronic dieters), are the ones most likely to overconsume such snacks.

“People have been trained to know that when something is tinier, and it comes in a smaller package, it’s more like diet food, something to help control food intake,” Scott says. “But when people see numerous pieces of food in multiple — but smaller — packages, they tend to perceive the multiple packages as containing more calories” than regular-sized packages.

“It doesn’t add up,” she says. “Something that is like ‘diet food’ can’t also have more calories.” The conflict, she says, causes stress for restrained eaters.

And what do restrained eaters do in response to stress? Research shows they eat more. That’s exactly what they did in the W. P. Carey School study. 

Not only are those 100 calorie packs unlikely to discourage overeating, they’re not very satisfying or nutritious, either.  Even worse, they cost a lot more per ounce than the regular-sized versions.

If you’re looking to lose fat/weight, you’re better off skipping these altogether, IMHO. 

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