SnackWell effect explained

The SnackWell effect is a phenomenon whereby dieters will eat more low-calorie cookies, such as SnackWells, than they otherwise would for normal cookies.[1] [2] Also known as moral license, it is also described as a term for the way people go overboard once they are given a free pass[3] or the tendency of people to overconsume when eating more of low-fat food due to the belief that it is not fattening.[4]

The term, which emerged as a reaction to dietary trends in the 1980s and 1990s,[5] is also used for similar effects in other settings, such as energy consumption, where it is termed the "rebound effect". For example, according to a 2008 study, people with energy-efficient washing machines wash more clothes.[6] [7] People with energy-efficient lights leave them on longer, and lose 5–12% of the expected energy savings of 80%.[8]

See also

Notes and References

  1. "One reason I've suggested is what called the SnackWell's Phenomenon: By giving a free pass to good nutrients, people go there and eat a lot more food. If one SnackWell's is okay because it's low-fat, a whole box is probably better." -- Food writer Michael Pollan in his Otis Lecture at Bates College, Oct. 27, 2008.
  2. Web site: Buzzword: Snackwell's effect . 2012-05-31 . 2011-09-05 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110905133213/http://news.consumerreports.org/home/2009/04/snackwell-effect-energy-use-consumer-reports-appliance-reviews-aceee-shelton-group-xeros-washing-mac.html . dead .
  3. Book: Harris, Dena. The Paleo Vegetarian Diet: A Guide For Weight Loss And Healthy Living. 2015. Ulysses Press. 9781612434629. Berkeley, CA. 18.
  4. Book: Small, Ernest. Top 100 Food Plants. limited. 2009. NRC Research Press. 9780660198583. Ottawa. 174.
  5. Web site: Burying the Snackwell Myth. Jacobson. Michael F.. 2017-03-06. Medium. en. 2019-09-30.
  6. Lucas W. Davis: 'Durable Goods and Residential Demand for Energy and Water: Evidence from a Field Trial'. The RAND Journal of Economics Vol. 39, No. 2 (Summer 2008), pp. 530-546. https://www.jstor.org/stable/25474381
  7. Web site: Flex Your Power Energy News - Power Plug » the Snackwell Effect: Consumers Sabotage Energy-Saving Efforts . 2010-02-20 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20100326000536/http://www.fypower.org/news/?p=6625 . 2010-03-26 .
  8. Web site: Consumers can sabotage energy-saving efforts . . 2009-03-22 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110604095539/http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/energy/2009-03-22-energysavings_N.htm . 2011-06-04 . live . Watson . Traci.

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