Snack Size Matters: Pretzel Study Reveals Eating Patterns

The AHA! Team — Wed, 12 Jun 2024 04:31:45 +0000

Penn State via News-Medical – The size of an individual snack piece not only influences how fast a person eats it, but also how much of it they eat, according to a new study led by researchers at Penn State. With nearly a quarter of daily calorie intake in the United States coming from snacks, these findings may have implications for helping people better understand how eating behavior impacts calorie and sodium intake. The team of food scientists investigated how the size of pretzels influences eating behavior (overall intake, eating rate, bite size and snacking duration) and found that people eat larger pretzels quicker with larger bites. They also found that while people ate smaller pretzels slower and with smaller bites, and ate less overall, they still had higher intake of sodium. Their results are available online now and will be published in the June issue of Appetite. People eat larger pretzels quicker with larger bites Seventy-five adults participated in the study, eating snacks three different times in the Sensory Evaluation Center. The oversized snack was about 2.5 servings of one of three sizes of pretzel (small, medium or large). To calculate eating rate and bite size, the researchers video recorded each snacking session, noting how many minutes each participant spent snacking and the number of bites. They also measured how much each participant ate in both weight and calories. When participants were given the same amount of food, how much they ate (in both snack weight and calories) depended on unit size, with study participants consuming 31% and 22% more of the large pretzels compared to the small and medium sized pretzels, respectively. Size of the pretzel also influenced eating rate and bite size, with the largest pretzel size yielding the fastest eating rate and largest mean bite size. The researchers also reported that, after accounting for eating behavior, the pretzel size alone did not significantly affect how much a person ate, suggesting the eating behavior the different pretzel sizes prompted was driving total intake. Their results suggest larger pretzel size induces a person to eat more quickly and take bigger bites. Pretzel size alone did not significantly affect how much a person ate Together, these findings indicate that unit size influences intake by affecting eating behavior and they show that food characteristics such as unit size can be leveraged to moderate snack intake, explained corresponding author John Hayes, professor of food science and director of the Penn State Sensory Evaluation Center. The study suggests that food structure (texture, size and shape) can be used to modulate eating behavior and food intake. Food geometry, specifically unit size, is of particular utility for snack foods. We’re interested in how the material properties of foods can be harnessed to help people eat less without impacting their enjoyment.” – John Hayes, professor of food science and director of the Penn State Sensory Evaluation Center The relationship between pretzel size and sodium intake was obvious but previously overlooked, noted Madeline Harper, a graduate student in food science and lead author on the study. She explained that eating more smaller pretzels likely results in higher sodium consumption. The smaller size has more surface area for the same weight, so the researchers hypothesize that more total salt on the surface means that a snacker would consume more sodium eating them. “So, we’re suggesting that if you’re trying to watch your calorie intake or are trying to reduce the amount that you’re eating in a snack, then maybe a smaller pretzel would meet your needs better, because of the inherent way the size of the pretzel affects your eating rate,” she said. “But if you’re more worried about hypertension or the amount of sodium you’re consuming, the larger pretzel might be better for you, because you’ll consume less sodium in that treatment, even though you might consume more grams of pretzel.” Paige Cunningham, postdoctoral scholar in the Department of Food Science and the Department of Nutritional Sciences at Penn State, and Ciaran Forde, professor and chair in Sensory Science and Eating Behaviour Group in the Division of Nutrition, at Wageningen University, contributed to the research. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture supported this research. Source: Penn State Journal reference: Harper, M. M., et al. (2024). Unit size influences ad libitum intake in a snacking context via eating rate. Appetite. doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2024.107300. To read the original article click here.

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Meeting Sleep Recommendations Could Lead to Smarter Snacking

AHA Publisher — Wed, 22 Sep 2021 07:00:40 +0000

Ohio State University via Newswise – COLUMBUS, Ohio – Missing out on the recommended seven or more hours of sleep per night could lead to more opportunities to make poorer snacking choices than those made by people who meet shut-eye guidelines, a new study suggests. The analysis of data on almost 20,000 American adults showed a link between not meeting sleep recommendations and eating more snack-related carbohydrates, added sugar, fats and caffeine. It turns out that the favored non-meal food categories – salty snacks and sweets and non-alcoholic drinks – are the same among adults regardless of sleep habits, but those getting less sleep tend to eat more snack calories in a day overall. The research also revealed what appears to be a popular American habit not influenced by how much we sleep: snacking at night. “At night, we’re drinking our calories and eating a lot of convenience foods,” said Christopher Taylor, professor of medical dietetics in the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences at The Ohio State University and senior author of the study. “Not only are we not sleeping when we stay up late, but we’re doing all these obesity-related behaviors: lack of physical activity, increased screen time, food choices that we’re consuming as snacks and not as meals. So it creates this bigger impact of meeting or not meeting sleep recommendations.” The American Academy of Sleep Medicine and Sleep Research Society recommend that adults sleep seven hours or longer per night on a regular basis to promote optimal health. Getting less sleep than recommended is associated with higher risk for a number of health problems, including weight gain and obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease. “We know lack of sleep is linked to obesity from a broader scale, but it’s all these little behaviors that are anchored around how that happens,” Taylor said. The study abstract is published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and the research will be presented in a poster session on Oct. 18 at the 2021 Food & Nutrition Conference & Expo. Researchers analyzed data from 19,650 U.S. adults between the ages of 20 and 60 who had participated from 2007 to 2018 in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The survey collects 24-hour dietary recalls from each participant – detailing not just what, but when, all food was consumed – and questions people about their average amount of nightly sleep during the work week. The Ohio State team divided participants into those who either did or didn’t meet sleep recommendations based on whether they reported sleeping seven or more hours or fewer than seven hours each night. Using U.S. Department of Agriculture databases, the researchers estimated participants’ snack-related nutrient intake and categorized all snacks into food groups. Three snacking time frames were established for the analysis: 2:00-11:59 a.m. for morning, noon-5:59 p.m. for afternoon, and 6 p.m.-1:59 a.m. for evening. Statistical analysis showed that almost everyone – 95.5% – ate at least one snack a day, and over 50% of snacking calories among all participants came from two broad categories that included soda and energy drinks and chips, pretzels, cookies and pastries. Compared to participants who slept seven or more hours a night, those who did not meet sleep recommendations were more likely to eat a morning snack and less likely to eat an afternoon snack, and ate higher quantities of snacks with more calories and less nutritional value. Though there are lots of physiological factors at play in sleep’s relationship to health, Taylor said changing behavior by avoiding the nightly nosh in particular could help adults not only meet the sleep guidelines, but also improve their diet. “Meeting sleep recommendations helps us meet that specific need for sleep related to our health, but is also tied to not doing the things that can harm health,” said Taylor, a registered dietitian. “The longer we’re awake, the more opportunities we have to eat. And at night, those calories are coming from snacks and sweets. Every time we make those decisions, we’re introducing calories and items related to increased risk for chronic disease, and we’re not getting whole grains, fruits and vegetables. “Even if you’re in bed and trying to fall asleep, at least you’re not in the kitchen eating – so if you can get yourself to bed, that’s a starting point.” To read the original article click here.

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Snack Size Matters: Pretzel Study Reveals Eating Patterns

Meeting Sleep Recommendations Could Lead to Smarter Snacking