I. Introduction
Nutrition charts on packaged food is one of the major sources of nutritional info available to consumers. Most developed countries, such as the United States, Canada, Australia, and the UK, require packaged food to display nutritional information.1 Many consumers use nutrition labels as a reference in purchasing food products.1 Some research results indicate that over 50% of the general adult population uses nutrition labels in New Zealand, Canada, and the USA.1
Consumers use nutritional charts to guide their food selection for various purposes.1 Some individuals follow special diets and select food based on macronutrient contents.1 Other individuals with health conditions, such as cardiovascular diseases and diabetes, tend to follow healthier diets and avoid food high in cholesterol, sodium, sugar, or fat.1 Moreover, weight-conscious individuals also use nutrition labels to monitor calorific intake for weight control.1
Globally, obesity and obesity-associated diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and arthritis are becoming more common. Nutrition charts are critical in providing consumers with nutritional information to help guide in healthy eating.1 Some studies show that consumers trust the accuracy in nutrition labels,1 whereas other studies show that some consumers distrust their accuracy.2 In fact, 44% of Canadian consumers perceive nutrition labels as inaccurate.2 Conflicting studies present the dilemma—whether nutrition charts on packaged foods are accurate or not.
II. Evidence for the “yes” side
A recent study suggests that Canadians can trust food labels in terms of trans-fat and saturated fat content.2 The study sampled more than 380 food products including cookies, granola bars, crackers...
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..., S. et al. Trans and saturated fat on food labels in Canada: fact or fiction? Can. J. Public Health 102, 313-316 (2011).
3. Jumpertz, R. et al. Food label accuracy of common snack foods. Obesity (Silver Spring) 21, 164-169 (2013).
4. Brandt, M., Moss, J. & Ferguson, M. The 2006–2007 Food Label and Package Survey (FLAPS): Nutrition labeling, trans fat labeling. J. Food. Compost. Anal. 22, S74-S77 (2009).
5. Silveira, B. M., Gonzalez-Chica, D. A. & da Costa Proença, R. P. Reporting of trans-fat on labels of Brazilian food products. Public Health Nutr. 16, 2146-2153 (2013).
6. Lai, J. F., Dobbs, J., Dunn, M. A., Tauyan, S. & Titchenal, C. A. Inconsistent values for iron content complicate recommending clams as an iron source. J. Food Compost. Anal. 22, 78-82 (2009).
7. Tao, Y. et al. Food nutrition labeling practice in China. Public Health Nutr. 14, 542-550 (2010).
Adverts often mask foods that are unhealthy by emphasising its positive nutritional features – such as dietary fibre and protein. While at the same time ignoring its negative features – including the high amounts of saturated fat and sugar contents. In some cases, even products that mention any alleged health benefits are usually are outweighed by the health risks associated with consuming the product, that they just fail to
Tavernise , Sabrina. "F.D.A. Seeking Near Total Ban on Trans Fats." New York Times, , sec. Editorial, November 08, 2013. http://sks.sirs.com/cgi-bin/hst-article-display?id=ST135623-0-1117&artno=0000356676&type=ART&shfilter=U&key=Trans fatty acids&title=F.D.A. Seeking Near Total Ban on Trans Fats&res=Y&ren=N&gov=N&lnk=N&ic=N (accessed November 20, 2013).
Zinczenko shares his personal story about how fast-food restaurants such as Taco Bell and McDonald’s led to a weight problem during his high-school years. He claims that the ease of accessibility and lack of healthy alternatives make it all too easy to fall into the cycle of unhealthy eating. Zinczenko also contends that the lack of nutrition labels on fast-food products leaves the consumer in the dark about what he or she is actually consuming. At the time Zinczenko wrote his article, fast-food restaurants were not willingly disclosing nutritional values of their products. Today this has changed. Fast-food companies, including McDonald’s, have put the full nutritional information of their products directly on the packaging and wrappers. All other fast-food establishments either post it on the menu board (Panera), offer easy access to pamphlets containing all nutritional information of their menu in store, or have it easily accessible online (Taco Bell, KFC). I am sure that this is a helpful step forward toward educating the public as to what they are consuming, but has this new knowledge to consumers had a dramatic change toward ending obesity? No. People have always known that eating a Big Mac and fries with the giant soft drinks that McDonald’s and other chains offer is not healthy; putting the nutritional labels on these items has done little to nothing to stop people from eating these high-calorie meals. This again leads back to the point that people as consumers need to be more accountable to themselves and stop blaming others for what they willingly choose to put in their
One of the main benefits of menu labeling is giving consumer’s information directly to help them understand what exactly they are consuming. The average calorie intake for consumers is 1,800 to 2,000 per day. Even though consumers may not feel like they are eating too much, sometimes over half of the recommended calories will be consumed in just one meal. Menu labeling will allow consumers to track their calorie intake if restaurants will have the calories displayed on their menu. Most importantly, menu labeling focuses on the prevention of chronic diseases, which are typically related to obesity (Diets in Review). By providing nutritional information, restaurants could gain new customers. Since menu labeling is not being implemented in all restaurants, consumers are currently looking for establishments who provide nutritional
In order to get stakeholders on board with the policy change, it will be important to provide them with information that lead legislators to the creation of this policy. Educational resources, such as pamphlets, should be distributed. The city should hold information sessions explaining the potential hazards behind the overconsumption of trans-fat...
It’s no secret that the U.S. is encouraging people to pursue healthier lifestyles in order to combat the obesity epidemic. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration have recently joined the fight against obesity by advocating for the elimination of Trans fats from the American food supply (Tavernise, 2013). Not to mention the policy initiates that have been created in order to help combat childhood obesity (the Let’s Move policy initiative). Simply put, the nation’s p...
For years, I have been eating what I want. Food choices are a significant factor that affects our health. What we like or crave, often, is the determining variable in what we eat. Finding the right balance of food choices is the key factor in improving our health benefits. Choosing nutrient-dense foods will provide more nutritional value than foods that are found to be low in nutrient density. Making the right choices in foods, however, is extremely difficult. Often, I find myself enthralled in the latest fad, not considering the subtext of the foods I am eating, such as nutrients, vitamins, healthy fats and unhealthy fats, cholesterol and minerals. The diet project underlined a three-day food entry intake that provided a dietary analysis report
...“Proposed Changes to the Nutrition Facts Label.” U.S. Food and Drug Administration. U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, 7 Mar. 2014. Web. 21 Apr. 2014.
Introduction There once was a time when words like "light" and "low-fat" were on food packages that had no nutritional meaning. As a result, shoppers were often led to believe they were buying products that were more helpful than they really were. Nutrition panels on labels are also confusing and hard to read. But the Australia New Zealand Authority (ANZFA) changed all that. In March 2001 the ANZFA defined new standardized terms that appear on food labels such as "low-fat", "reduced" and "lean" to control how food manufacturers could put their facts that are relevant to most of our dietary needs.
These last two years, however, I started to gain weight and have become concerned with my diet. Changing my poor eating habits has been difficult for me, however, having this assignment has taught me that it is not as difficult as I previously imagined. Nutrition experts in the United States and Canada have a list of standards with four list values. These list values are called the Dietary Reference Intakes. The DRI committee sets these values for vitamins, minerals, calories, and nutrients.
Warner, Melanie. McDonald's to Add Facts on Nutrition to Packaging. N.p., 26 Oct. 2005. Web.
Harvard School of Public Health “Shining the spotlight on trans fats.” Harvard Nutrition source, n.d.
More and More people are becoming concerned about what they eat, especially if they consume food products that are manufactured in food industries. However, it is hard to know what exactly you are consuming if food industries provide false nutrition content and mislead consumers by placing false advertisements on the packaging. When a company produces a product that contains misleading label, consumers are not receiving complete information about the food they are eating which could lead to health issues including allergies and problems with diabetes.
Nutrition assessments include clinical and dietary assessment, anthropometrics, as well as biochemical, laboratory immunologic and functional indices of nutritional status (Gibney, 2005). In epidemiological studies, different dietary investigation tools were designed to assess the nutritional status in individuals and populations, nutrition monitoring and surveillance and diet-disease research (Friedenreich, et al., 1992, Taren, 2002).
Fat chance of beating obesity without’ strict’ food labeling. (2013, November29).The Sydney Morning Herald.[On-line]. Available: http://www.smh.com.au/national/fat-chance-of-beating-obesity-without-strict-food-labelling-20131128-2yehd.html