Originally published October 31 2005
Food companies selling snacks by calorie content
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
The latest trend in the snack food industry is to sell snack foods in packaged servings of 100 calories, and so far, General Mills, Kellog's and Nabisco have adopted the strategy.
The days of such mindless snacking are history now that Hanson relies on portion-control packs that tell her when it's time to stop.
In a nation notoriously helpless when it comes to portion control, food companies are doing the calorie-counting for consumers by serving up ever more snacks at about 100 calories a pop.
Kellogg's this summer launched its 100-calorie Right Bites chocolate chip and Sandies cookies, following Nabisco's introduction of 100-calorie snacks last year and Jell-O's recent Sundae Toppers at 110 calories a cup.
The sudden desire for moderation marks a pivotal reversal in a 40-year trend where consumers happily gobbled down ever-ballooning portions, said David Levitsky, a professor of nutrition and psychology at Cornell University.
Now with about two-thirds of U.S. adults overweight, and almost half of those considered obese, health officials are targeting portion sizes as a culprit.
We eat what's on our plate," Levitsky said.
The government recommends a daily intake of about 1,600 calories for women and 2,200 for men.
But people can unwittingly inhale half that amount with a seemingly harmless "snack" of cookies or chips.
For Albany resident Hanson, the portion-control packs take that burden away from her.
The portion-control packaging is popular because it responds to dual trends in the food industry _ the desire for convenience and healthier options, said Todd Hultquist, spokesman for the Food Marketing Institute in Washington.
The snack food market in 2003 was estimated at $47.1 billion, up $7.2 billion from 1999, according to Maryland-based Market Research.
By 2008, the firm estimates the market for snack foods will grow to $57.3 billion, with more Americans opting for healthier choices like pre-cut apple slices, single portion bags of baby carrots or low-calorie snacks.
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