Popcorn is ~10× as filling per calorie as Potato chips
Score 52 vs 5 on the satiety-per-calorie scale.
Popcorn
52solidly filling · 387 kcal /100 g
Potato chips
5engineered against fullness · 532 kcal /100 g
Same fullness, very different calories
Roughly what it costs to reach the fullness of 300 kcal of potato chips:
Potato chips~300 kcal · ~56 g
300 kcal
Popcorn~29 kcal · ~7 g
29 kcal
A rough guide, not a lab measurement — it treats fullness per calorie as constant across portion sizes, which is a simplification. How the score works.
Why they score differently
Protein
Popcorn
49
Potato chips
26
Low energy density
Popcorn
25
Potato chips
15
Fiber
Popcorn
56
Potato chips
16
Hyper-palatability penalty
Popcorn
−0%
Potato chips
−80%
The numbers
| Per 100 g | Popcorn | Potato chips |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 52 | 5 |
| Energy | 387 kcal | 532 kcal |
| Protein | 12.9 g | 6.4 g |
| Fat | 4.5 g | 34.0 g |
| Carbohydrate | 77.8 g | 53.8 g |
| …of which sugars | 0.9 g | 0.3 g |
| Fiber | 14.5 g | 3.1 g |
| Sodium | 8 mg | 527 mg |
Satiety per calorie, not a virtue scale — neither food is forbidden.