TEMPE, Ariz., Aug. 25 (UPI) -- Chronic dieters, who try to manage their weight and food intake, tend to eat more snacks if they're packaged in 100-calorie packs, U.S. researchers said.
Arizona State University study authors Maura L. Scott, Stephen M. Nowlis, Naomi Mandel and Andrea C. Morales examined consumer behavior regarding "mini-packs," 100-calorie food packages that are marketed to help people control calorie intake.
In a series of studies, the researchers assessed peoples' perceptions of M&Ms in mini-packs versus regular-sized packages.
The study, published in the October issue of the Journal of Consumer Research, found that participants tend 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" or chronic dieters and "unrestrained" eaters. The restrained eaters tended to consume more calories from mini-packs than "unrestrained" participants.
