Small portions make you eat more, researchers claim

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Small portions make you eat more, researchers claim


By Fiona Macrae
Last updated at 4:18 PM on 04th July 2008

Good things may come in small packages, but the snack-sized portion is not always the dieter's friend.

Research shows that volunteers given several small bags of crisps munched their way through more than those given the equivalent amount in larger bags.

It is thought that petite packaging dupes slimmers into dropping their guard - the result being that they eat more, New Scientist magazine reports.

Researchers found that volunteers given small bags of crisps ate more than those given the equivalent amount in larger bags

Although the study looked specifically at packaging size, the Dutch researchers said it is likely that the same effect is seen with low-fat foods.

Marketing expert Professor Rik Pieters gave 140 students bags of crisps to eat while watching television. Some were given nine small bags, while others were given the same amount of crisps in two large bags.

To make the students think about calories, half were asked if they had any concerns about their size and weighed in front of a mirror.

The researchers, from Tilburg University in the Netherlands, then watched the students work their way through the crisps.

Bag size made no difference to the amount of crisps eaten by those who had not been motivated to think about their weight. But students primed to think about dieting reacted differently.

Among the dieters, those given the large packs were less likely to open them - and those that did ate half as many crisps as students given the small bags.

It is thought that the small bags fooled them into thinking they did not need to count calories.

The researchers said that the increasing availability of snack-sized multi-packs could be encouraging the phenomenon.

'Customers with self-regulatory concerns might wind up consuming more rather than less,' they said.


Small portions make you eat more, researchers claim | Mail Online