Eating smaller biscuits may seem like a good way to cut sugar and fat from your diet, but new research suggests it could have the opposite effect.
Consumer testers Which? compared the nutritional values of McVities Nibbles and Thins with standard McVities milk chocolate digestives and found that the smaller snacks were less healthy.
Regular chocolate digestives contain 8.2g of saturated fat per 100g compared to Thins, which have 13.4g of saturated fat per 100g.
What’s more, eating Nibbles instead of a standard chocolate digestive would mean consuming 77% more saturated fat.
It’s worth noting though that McVitie’s does not market Thins or Nibbles as healthier alternatives to digestives. Instead, the researchers were merely commenting on the potential public perception of foods, reminding us all that smaller doesn’t necessarily mean healthier.
The Which? testers also emphasised that Nibbles contain about 25% more sugar than the standard biscuit per gram, and only about two thirds as much fibre. That said, they do contain about half as much salt as a digestive.
Meanwhile regular chocolate digestives contain 30.1g of sugar per 100g, while Thins contain 30.4g.
The small study also highlighted the stark price difference between the three products, with chocolate digestives retailing for £5 per kg, Thins retailing at £9.39 per kg and Nibbles retailing at £12.50 per kg.
Commenting on the findings, Which? said: “McVitie’s makes clear that its biscuits are an indulgent treat, but it’s always worth keeping an eye on how much you eat.
“And, while the price of each pack might look similar, once you compare pack sizes, Thins and Nibbles end up being twice the price of the digestives.”
In response to the Which? report a McVitie’s spokesperson told HuffPost UK: “McVitie’s Digestives Thins and McVitie’s Digestives Nibbles are an indulgent treat, and not designed or marketed as a healthier alternative. Our R&D team designed these products in response to consumer demand for options to fit sharing occasions such as evenings at home, providing the choice of a smaller treat size biscuit.
“We show the nutritional information for each McVitie’s product clearly on the packaging and believe that our products compare well with other treat sized options.”