FDA Health and Diet Survey Shows Consumers Reading Food Labels More!

On March 2nd, the FDA released findings from their 2008 Health and Diet telephone survey of more than 2,500 adults in every state and the District of Columbia.

 

Great news, the FDA reported that "more than half of consumers in the United States often read the food label when buying a product for the first time." According to the findings, this is a 10 percent increase from 2002. I can't tell you how often I am asked by clients, friends, family etc. how to read a nutrition label. It can be tricky. But I am thrilled to learn that people are more concerned with what they are consuming.

With regard to how diet can affect health, here are some key findings:

• More U.S. consumers know of the relationship between diet and heart disease. Ninety-one percent knew of this link, an 8 percent jump from 2002. In addition, 62 percent of consumers mentioned fats as a factor related to heart disease, compared to 53 percent in 2002.
• Eighty-one percent of consumers know that certain foods or drinks may help prevent heart disease or heart attacks. This result showed no change from 2002. While fruits and vegetables were most frequently linked with reducing heart disease, fewer people made this link in 2008 than in 2002.
• Consumers' awareness that trans fats in the diet may raise the risk of heart disease nearly doubled over just four years, from 32 percent in 2004 to 62 percent.
• Correct identification that omega-3 fatty acids may lower the risk of heart disease increased, from 31 percent in 2004, to 52 percent in 2008.
• Knowledge that saturated fat may raise the risk of heart disease was stable: it was 74 percent in 2004 and 73 percent in 2008.

With regard to food labels, some key findings include:

• More than half (54 percent) of consumers said they read a product's label the first time they buy the product. That's a 10 percent increase from 2002.
• Among those who in 2008 reported they read the nutrition label the first time they buy a product
• two-thirds use the label “often” to check how high or low a food is in calories and in substances such as salt, vitamins, and fat
• 55 percent “often” use the label to get a general idea of the food's nutritional content
• 46 percent “often” use the calorie information on the label. Thirty-four percent rarely or never use the calorie information
• Thirty-eight percent of consumers said they use nutrient content claims (such as “low-fat,” “high-fiber,” and “cholesterol-free”) “often”; 34 percent answered “sometimes.”
• When asked if they refer to the label claim of “0 grams of trans fat,” 31 percent said “often” and 36 percent said “sometimes.”

 

It also appears consumers are getting more savvy when it comes to label "claims" which I am happy to see. As I have shared in the past, some of these new "healthy" label endorsements are just false or sometimes paid advertisements! Remember the “Smart Choices” blog post I wrote back in October of 2009? In August of 2009 the FDA requested that the Smart Choices program be suspended because their claims were misleading consumers. If you did not get a chance to read that blog posting I recommend you check it out to see how easy it is to be tricked or misled by retailers in buying “healthy” food.

 

According to the findings:

• 41 percent of consumers believe that all or most of claims such as “low-fat,” “high-fiber,” or “cholesterol-free” are accurate, while 
• 56 percent believe that some or none of them are accurate.

Here are a few tips to help you get started should you be new to reading labels:

 

1. First look at the serving size. The product you are eating may contain fewer than 3 grams of sugar in its 1/2 cup serving, but not if you are eating double or triple that amount.

 

2. After you look at the serving size, see if it's "worth" the calories reported on the label; if not put it back on the shelf

 

3. Check how many grams of saturated fat there are in one serving. Total fat is worth checking out too, but sticking with the American Heart Association's recommendation that less that 7% of calories come from saturated fats is most important to heart health than total fat.

 

4. Look at the grams of fiber. If a product claims to be "high in fiber" there must be at least 5 grams of fiber per serving.

 

5. When looking at the % daily value on the far right of the label, keep in mind that these percentages are based on a 2,000 calorie/day diet. Everyone reading the label will have different needs so adjust these values accordingly

 

Let us know what you think? Do you read the label the first time you buy a new food?

 

These findings appear on FDA's Consumer Updates page, which features the latest on all FDA-regulated products. Date Posted: March 2, 2010. To see the full survey results click on this link http://www.fda.gov/Food/ScienceResearch/ResearchAreas/ConsumerResearch/ucm193895.htm