Health Alert: No Excuses, Small Snacks as Effective as Big Ones

You can curb your appetite with a bite

Before you try to convince yourself or others that only a big snack will suppress your supposed starvation between meals, a new report has found that small snacks are just as effective at curbing appetite. Over 100 people were recruited and each was offered a mid-afternoon snack of potato chips, pie or chocolate that varied in size (i.e. one bite vs. two slices of pie). While the large-portion group consumed 77 percent more food and roughly 103 more calories, hunger satisfaction was essentially even among all participants 15 minutes after eating. Ellen van Kleef, an assistant professor of consumer behavior, says that, contrary to what we believe, our hunger is "weakly associated" with how much we eat; it's really our mind that dictates how hungry we feel. So, in the middle of the day after we've gone a few hours without eating, our mind starts to urge an appetite even if we don't. Brian Wansink of Cornell University, who worked on the study, says that popping a small snack and giving your brain 15 minutes to chill out is often enough to satisfy your hunger pangs. And try cutting your snack size in half, you'll likely feel just as full 15 minutes later. (Today)

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