In the January issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, an article was published regarding the impact of nutritional labels on food choices at different Dutch work cafeterias. The purpose of this study was to investigate the differences made to food choices, and if it stimulated consumers to make healthier choices or if customers actually pay attention to the nutritional information in the product.
The Choices nutrition logo is found around European countries in supermarket chains and different locations. This logo is similar to the Smart Choices program, which appears on the front of the pack of certain food items, such as cereal boxes, breads, yogurts, etc. along the United States. Both these logos inform the customer that the food item complies with the recommended criteria specified by the World Health Organization (low sodium, sugar, saturated fats and trans fats). Although these two systems are produced to inform the consumer, they are not associated in any way, as the Choices logo is not pursuing its effectiveness in the United States. The study, therefore, attempted to determine if the availability of information related to the food items increased the sales of these Choices sandwiches and soups in the work place cafeterias.
The study collected data from a cluster randomized control trial of 13 cafeterias where the Choices food logo was placed on certain menu items and 12 work place cafeterias that were set as “control”, where the same items were sold with no logo on them. The study took place over 9 weeks, from March to May during the year 2009. The cafeterias were selected from Dutch companies employing office workers with mainly sedentary jobs. These were recruited in collaboration with the lead...
... middle of paper ...
...ibly more influenced by cravings or how appetizing a food looks.
With the current rise in these obese, and generally overweight population (sedentary office workers), making this information mandatory for presentation will most likely influence smarter food choices. These food choices may seem small but when compared with the huge list of risks associated with being overweight or obese, they play a great role. Studies like this give greater insight to the influence of food education on food habit and could greatly influence regulation of food sales for the better.
Works Cited
Vyth, E., Steenhuis, I., Heymans, M., Roodenburg, A., Brug, J., & Seidell, J. (2011). Influence of placement of a nutrition logo on cafeteria menu items on lunchtime food choices at dutch work sites. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 111(1), 131-136. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
The current epidemic of obesity is caused largely by an environment that promotes excessive food intake and discourages physical activity (French, 2001). I expect to observe in this study that once a person is presented with a choice between a sweet unhealthy or healthier snack will they will choose the unhealthy snack over the healthier choice 80% of the time.
T., Kraak, V. I., 2005, p.153). The book will be used in the sections where food industry and advertising could change their marketing toward healthy choices to help reducing and preventing
Zinczenko explains, “Where are consumers supposed to find alternatives? Drive down any thoroughfare in America, and I guarantee you’ll see one of our country’s more than 13,000 McDonald’s restaurants.” He continues, “Now, drive back up the block and try to find someplace to buy a grapefruit.” (Zinczenko 463). What’s the chances of finding a fruit stand rather than a fast food restaurant? In addition, consumers are not being informed on what exactly they are taking in. There are no calorie charts posted on the food, nor are there warning labels connected to it. Thus, the purchaser is becoming unhealthy and eventually obese. Zinczenko stated fast food restaurants, “Would do well to protect themselves, and their consumers, by providing the nutrition information people need to make informed choices about their products.” Furthermore, without warnings, there will consequently be a higher number of ill and obese
Knowledge is power, the more the consumer knows about the food they are eating the healthier choices they’ll make. For instance, in McDonald’s Grilled Honey Mustard Snack Wrap and a small French fry, from McDonald’s is around $6.00 and contains 420 calories 24g of fat (6.0g saturated).If you were to compare that to a Big Mac meals that comes with medium size fries and coke soda would be about 980 calories the Snack Wrap would be a healthier alternative and it would be about the same price $6.00. When fast food chains put labels on their food like McDonald’s consumers can’t
Obesity is a rising problem in the United States. With obesity rates on the rise something must be done to prevent this massive issue. There are ways to help including educating at young ages, improving nutrition facts at restaurants, and providing more space for citizens to get physically active.
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
The food industry continues to be a major contributor to health problems in the United States and around the world. Currently, 13% of the world’s 671 million obese individuals live in the United States. (Kaplan) Some believe that it is the government’s responsibility to go to educate the people and then to further encourage them to make wise decisions on what they choose to eat. Others argue that it is the consumer’s personal responsibility to educate themselves and make a conscious decision about their food. After all, we have the freedom to do so. No one forces people to buy and eat the things that they do. But it would be naive and even outrageous to say that there are no extraneous factors counteracting a person’s will to make healthy
Fast food restaurants such as Burger King and McDonald’s, create advertisements where it urges people to consume their product. For example Mcdonald’s created a product where you can get two items such as a mcdouble and a medium fries for three dollars. According to “The battle against fast food begins at home”, by Daniel Weintraub, it shows how companies are intriguing their customers. “ The center blames the problem on the increasing consumption of fast food and soft drinks, larger portion sizes in restaurants and the amount of available on school campuses”(1).For the most part, the Center for Public Health believes that fast food companies are the problem for health
Daily, millions of people are perusing the grocery store, buying food for their families, completely unaware of what they are purchasing. A study on consumer research regarding food labels by the FDA found only a small percentage of people actually read the food labels and understand what they mean apart from only the calories and fat; ingredients are another story. “According to a study published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, about 61.5 percent reported using the nutrition facts panel when deciding to purchase food. Fewer people paid attention to the list of ingredients” (CNN Health). The FDA is aware that labeling could help reverse the acceleration we are seeing in heart diseases and obesity, but labeling does not help people to read the ingredients if they do not understand pseudonyms, and vitamins. “The surveys also revealed frequent misunderstanding of the meaning of the daily/value column that shows how each nutrient fits into a healthy diet, “(American journal Nutrition, WEB). Many different harmful ingredients are secretly hidden in labels and people skimming ov...
“Today, more than 95% of all chronic disease is caused by food choice, toxic food ingredients, nutritional deficiencies and lack of physical exercise” Mike Adams (1967- present). People tend to believe our obesity epidemic is due to our high-calorie fast food restaurants. They are quick to blame others for their own mistakes and their willingness to change their eating habits. Fast food restaurants are not to blame for our obesity problem in our society but as a consumer, we are making that ultimate choice. We need to stop and think about what we are putting in our bodies and what they are doing to us. Yes, it’s true, it’s easier to find a McDonalds than a fruit or vegetable stand, but why not choose the salad with half the dressing at McDonalds
For instance, in McDonald’s grilled honey mustard snack warp plus small French fries, 420 calories 24g (6.0g saturated)that could be about six dollars. When fast food chains put labels on their food like McDonalds its consumer can’t blame McDonalds for selling them unhealthy food when they could see how many calories the food contains. Even though the article “Don’t blame the eater” is outdated, fast food chains have made a change for its customer by putting websites about their nutrition and even putting the calories table on the wrappers of the burgers or other food items. Zinczenko had many valid points on what fast food chain should do about the calorie labels. Then in 2011 many fast food chains had started to put the calorie charts on their food, but in 2015 the FDA has passed the labeling requirement for a restaurant which also go’s for retail food establishment and vending machines. So when it comes to people over eating it’s on them for not looking at the labels on the food. But it could also be that the food of the fast food is so cheap that people don’t care what is in their food and how bad the food is for them. Even if the families see how badly the food is they could still make an effort to exercise and balances how they
We make personal choices about what and where to eat. The government is not going to eliminate the unhealthy food because we think it is the cause of obesity. Ultimately, we must decide to either stay away from unhealthy food or eat them in moderation. Despite all the efforts of education, media and guidance it doesn’t prevent us from grabbing that cheeseburger with fries on the way to work. In his essay “What You Eat Is Your Business,” Radley Balko argues that society should take full responsi...
New nutrition laws are being created to help familiarize people with the high amount of calories in fast food. California was the first state to make a law requiring the calorie count of food to be posted on the menu boards (“Judge” par. 15). On July 1, 2007, the New York City Board of Health created a new regulation which requires the calorie count of the food to be on fast food menus (“New” par. 2). The New York State Restaurant Association is currently fighting to reject this law (“Judge” par. 2). The idea of putting the amount of calories on fast food menu boards is currently spreading...
In today's society, fast food has become a large part of many American's lives. With the rising numbers of obese people, it is hard not to draw a correlation between the increase in fast food and obesity. Most obese people don’t want to be obese and wish they could lose weight, yet they continue to struggle with their fast food intake and obesity. This is due to the advertising done on the consumers, the highly addictive food itself, and most importantly, how advertising and addiction combine with children to form habits that are kept once they become adults. These factors are the reasons that fast food restaurants are to blame for the rising obesity and health risks across America. The government needs to step in and place regulations on these fast food restaurants so they will stop taking advantage of people's weaknesses.