Snack Package Size and Variety Differentially Influence Energy Intake and Food Choices in Healthy Adults

Abstract

Background: While energy and nutritional content of snacks can contribute to overconsumption, other factors within the modern food environment may also influence the amount and types of snacks consumed. Objectives: The aim was to examine whether snack package size and variety influence free-living snacking behavior in healthy adults. The impact of intuitive eating score on snacking behavior was also examined. Methods: Thirty adults [age: 23.6 ± 0.8 y; BMI (kg/m2): 22.8 ± 0.5] participated in a randomized crossover-design study. Participants were provided, in randomized order, with the following isocaloric snack exposures to consume for 3 d/exposure - 1) CONTROL: highly appealing/appetizing snacks (e.g., dessert snacks, candy, savory snacks, fruits and vegetables, protein snacks); 2) LARGE-PACKAGE: similar snacks as CONTROL but in larger package sizes; and 3) VARIETY: larger variety of snacks. The primary outcomes included the 3-d average ad libitum snack energy, macronutrient content, and food choices for each snack exposure. The secondary outcome was the intuitive eating score and snacking behavior. Results: LARGE-PACKAGE increased snack intake by 11.9% (1150 ± 81 kcal) compared with CONTROL (1030 ± 71 kcal, P = 0.04), whereas VARIETY snack intake (1030 ± 69 kcal) was no different from CONTROL (P = 1.0). LARGE-PACKAGE increased consumption of desserts compared with CONTROL (P = 0.03) and VARIETY (P = 0.02). Alternately, VARIETY increased consumption of fruits and vegetables compared with LARGE-PACKAGE (P = 0.01) and CONTROL (P = 0.01). Intuitive eating score was not significantly associated with snack intake or snack choice (all, P > 0.05). Conclusions: Snack package size and variety differentially influence energy intake and food choices in healthy adults.