People tend to eat more of a particular food item when it comes in small packs rather than regular sizes, especially when it comes to chocolates and candies.
Those with low-appearance self-esteem (concerned about body, weight or physical appearance) tend to consume more than the average population, says Jennifer Argo, University of Alberta, which conducted the study. “Such people ate the most when they were told that the caloric information was favourable (low in calories), when the caloric information was on the front of the package and when the product was visible (clear packaging),” said Argo in the Journal of Marketing .
“People in the high-appearance self-esteem category (those who did not indicate concerns about weight or physical appearance) also ate. But there was a big jump in the consumption quantity for (those with low self-esteem).”
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Argo says that information contained on the packages in the study samples did have an effect on the low-appearance self-esteem participants, according to an Alberta statement.
This group 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.