My fellow dieters, beware of mini-packs and mini-foods!
Did you know recent studies show chronic dieters tend to consume more calories when foods and packages are smaller? Consumer behavior was observed in the study regarding "mini-packs," 100-calorie food packages that are marketed to help people control calorie intake.
The study revealed that one group that over-consumes the mini-packs is chronic dieters - individuals making a conscious effort in trying to manage their weight and food intake.
This shows that the ubiquitous small packages may actually undermine dieters' attempts to limit calories. Consider this: Consumers perceive the mini-packs to be a generous portion of food - numerous small food morsels in each pack and multiple mini-packs in each box - while on the other hand, consumers perceive the mini-packs to be diet food. For chronic dieters, this
perceptual dilemma causes a tendency to overeat, due to their emotion-laden relationship with food.
In a series of focus group studies, peoples' perceptions of M&Ms in mini-packs versus regular-sized packages was observed. The research showed participants tended to have conflicting thoughts about the mini-packs: They thought of them as "diet food," yet they overestimated how many calories the packages contained.
In subsequent studies, the researchers assessed participants' relationship with food, dividing
them into "restrained" and "unrestrained" eaters. The "restrained" eaters tended to consume more calories from mini-packs than "unrestrained" participants.
The authors conclude that dieters should keep an eye on small
packages: "While restrained eaters may be attracted to smaller foods
in smaller packages initially, presumably because these products are
thought to help consumers with their diets, our research shows that
restrained eaters actually tend to consume more of these foods than
they would of regular foods."
My Research Website: The Weight Is Over
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