The impact of marketing food products as 'snacks' or 'meals' has been investigated. It was found that foods that are labelled as a 'snack' increases consumption and can lead to overeating, reveals a new study in the journal Appetite.// In the first ever study of its kind, Professor Jane Ogden and her researchers from the University of Surrey examined the impact of labeling food products as 'snacks' or 'meals'.
‘Labeling food products as 'meals' can help individuals from overeating and maintain a healthy body weight.’
Tweet it Now
During this innovative investigation, eighty participants were asked to eat a pasta pot which was either labelled as a 'snack' or a 'meal.'Each pot was presented as a 'snack' (eaten standing up from a plastic pot with a plastic fork) or a 'meal' (seated at a table from a ceramic plate and metal fork).
Once consumed, participants were invited to take part in an additional taste test of different foods (animal biscuits, hula hoops, M&M's and mini cheddars.)
Researchers found that those who had eaten pasta labelled as a 'snack' ate more at the taste test then when it had been labelled as a 'meal.'
It was also found that those who ate the 'snack' standing up consumed more (50% more total mass, sweet mass and total calories and 100% more M&M's) than those who had eaten the pasta sitting down at a table. This unique set of results demonstrate that when a food is labelled as a snack rather than a meal consumption is higher, particularly when standing rather than sitting.
Advertisement
Jane Ogden, Professor in Health Psychology at the University of Surrey, said: "With our lives getting busier increasing numbers of people are eating on the go and consuming foods that are labelled as 'snacks' to sustain them. What we have found is that those who are consuming snacks are more likely to over eat as they may not realize or even remember what they have eaten. To overcome this we should call our food a meal and eat it as meal, helping make us more aware of what we are eating so that we don't overeat later on."
Advertisement
It is estimated that £16 billion a year is spent on the direct medical costs of diabetes and conditions related to being overweight or obese.
Source-Eurekalert