Counting calories on snack foods?

New research looks into how a combination of package language, size, and nutrition label information can affect whether you buy anything from cookies to popcorn to satisfy your cravings.

Sometimes, the urge to munch may overcome your usual healthy choices — and you're going to eat the sizeable bag of crackers no matter what. In other instances, descriptive language such as skinny and mini, the portion, and calorie count play into your purchase.

In an interview Oct. 12, 2018, on The Show, KJZZ’s locally produced news magazine, Co-Host Mark Brodie gets to the bottom of the 100-calorie snack marketing trend in this interview:

Our research found that consumers tended to evaluate the product more favorably if the language matched the calorie count. For example, 99 calories and small was more favorable than 99 calories and big. If it's 99 calories and a big package of cookies or popcorn, it may be confusing to process.

–Christopher Lee, clinical assistant professor of marketing