How food packaging makes you gain weight

When it comes to marketing and advertising — images are where it’s at. And no industry knows this better than the foodies.

Just think about it…

When you’re shopping for groceries, even if you have a list to go by, are your eyes drawn to the “serving suggestion” image on the box fronts of pre-packaged foods? With a great food stylist and photographer — not to mention Photoshop — even tofu can be presented in the most mouth-watering way. And that’s exactly the seller’s intention. Good-looking food sells.

But there’s something else going on in that image you might not suspect. Is it sinister? Probably not. But it certainly has an effect on us as American consumers…

Those “serving suggestion” pictures have given us an over-inflated idea of what a normal portion looks like — and it’s leading us to serve-up much more than a healthy helping on our dinner plates.

Yes, the food companies may recommend a smaller serving size on the nutrition label. But who’s reading that when there are mounds of rich, creamy, buttery icing smothering the velvety cake lying on an over-sized plate pictured on the box cover? That’s the piece we all want, right?

But in a series of studies, researchers found that depictions of frosted cake on cake mix boxes amount to nearly 135% more calories than the recommended serving size.

And in a survey of 72 undergraduates and 44 females in the food service industry, they found that these overly caloric depictions caused both groups to overestimate serving size. The latter group overestimated by 122 calories.

However, and this is where the proof is in the pudding, er, frosting  —  when the phrase “frosting not included on the nutritional labeling” appeared on the box, estimation of an appropriate serving size was significantly reduced.

According to study co-author, Brian Wansink, PhD, director of the Food and Brand Lab and author of Slim by Design: Mindless Eating Solutions for Everyday Life, “Undoubtedly, companies don’t intend to deceive us when they include frosting in cake box depictions, but these seemingly small elements of packaging can have a huge impact.”