EDMONTON, Ontario—A new study from researchers at the University of Alberta reveals what you probably already knew but didn't want to admit—people tend to eat more snacks and candy when they are packaged in those tempting, bite-sized packages rather than regular-sized packages.
The study, which will be published the Journal of Marketing, examined how an individual's consumption behaviors change when it comes to treats like chocolates and candies packaged smaller servings. The researchers found those with low-appearance self-esteem (people who are concerned about their body, weight or physical appearance) ate the most when they were told that the food item was low in calories, when nutritional information was provided on the packaging, and when the product was visible through the packaging.
People in the high-appearance self-esteem category (those who were not concerned about their looks, weight or body) ate more, but the difference in their consumption did not vary as much as that of the people from the low-appearance self-esteem category.
Information contained on the packages in the study samples did have an effect on the low-appearance self-esteem participants, which tended to eat less when the product wasn’t visible, the caloric information was missing or they believed there were more calories in the small packages than what they expected. Elements such as a visible product and content labeling information served as cues to the group’s susceptibility, which gave the group a false sense of belief that the package would help them manage consumption and help them achieve potential weight-management goals.
The researchers concluded even though individually wrapped snacks have nutritional information or come in a bag with that information, the bite-size treats are still detrimental to consumers’ waistlines.
“These consumers are basically saying, ‘this package is going to protect me; it’s going to help me achieve my goal,’ and so they relinquish control to the package," the researchers said. “They throw up their hands and say, ‘I don’t have to worry because the package is taking care of everything for me.’ As soon as they’ve given up initial control, they have no control to deal with that next package that’s presented to them."
