WIN Wyoming

Thought Bullets
for
October 1998

• More is not always better!

• People often buy larger sizes because they perceive them to be better buys. The cost of packaging, transportation and marketing don't change much as serving size increases. A researcher at the University of Wisconsin found the size of the food container does influence the amount of food a person eats.

• Brian Wansink, director of the Food and Brand Research Lab, armed families with bags of M&Ms and a video camera. People who received the 1 pound bag of M&Ms ate an average of 112 M&Ms. People who received the 2 pound bag ate an average of 156 M&Ms.

• A similar finding was found with bags of popcorn. The average person ate about a half bag of popcorn, whether they received an medium or a jumbo size. The jumbo size contained almost twice as much popcorn.

• Serving size----it really counts!

 Source:  Liebman B.  The Pressure to Eat-Why we're getting fatter.  Nutrition Action Healthletter, July/August 1998, pp. 3-6.

Compiled by Betty Holmes, MS, RD

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