Health Options
What drives your food-buying choices? Do you pick foods based solely on flavor or do you base your choices more on certain health criteria? When it's those criteria, are you more concerned with nutrients in a food or claims that it is natural or organic? Does convenience influence you more than health concerns or affordability? Food label info based on sales
Most animals choose their foods based on two simple criteria: availability and the ability to get enough calories for their energy needs. Throughout history, humans followed the same criteria. However, over the last two to four decades in most developed countries, the problems of food and energy availability disappeared as the driving forces in food-choice decisions.
The food industry wants to base the information on food labels on what helps sell their products. It's interesting to look at changing trends in U.S. food-label claims as a way to evaluate what the food industry believes will have the most impact on food purchases.
As people age and become more concerned about maintaining their youth and health, nutrient claims on food labels have reflected those trends.
In 1991, about 1,200 packaged food products claimed to be reduced- or low-fat and/or reduced- or low-calorie. In 2001, the number of these claims declined to 880 products touting low fat, and only about 170 claiming to be reduced- or low-calorie.
Although it is possible for low-fat and low-calorie foods to taste good, these claims were often made for foods that lacked flavor. This, in turn, solidified the consumer belief that high fat content is necessary for good flavor.
Since 1991, there have been similar declines in the number of food products claiming to be low- or no-cholesterol, reduced- or low-salt, and added- or high-fiber. In contrast, the number of foods claiming to be all natural, organic and containing no additives or preservatives significantly increased.
It seems the popularity of "deprivation claims" is giving way to claims with a more positive tone, hinting that the food is better for you primarily because it has not been overly processed. Many of these claims used to be more the domain of natural food stores, but are now found in conventional supermarkets.
Reduced- or low-sugar claims have risen slightly over the last five years and are likely to continue as the incidence of diabetes increases.
In 1991, only 15 food products emphasized added or high calcium. In 2001, the number claiming added calcium multiplied almost 10 times, to 140 products. Clearly, this rapid increase reflects consumer concern about osteoporosis.
A great deal of time and money goes into determining the most appropriate label wording to get people to purchase products. In many people's minds, low-fat has become synonymous with less flavor. Therefore, some legally low-fat products may forego the low-fat claim. This dilemma may require those looking for low-fat products to evaluate product Nutrition Facts Panels. The legal definition of low-fat is 3 grams of fat or less per serving.
Ultimately, what you buy determines what stays in stores.
Health Events
Joannie Dobbs, Ph.D., C.N.S., is a food and nutrition consultant
and owner of Exploring New Concepts, a nutritional consulting firm.
She is also responsible for the nutritional analyses
indicated by an asterisk in this section.Alan Titchenal, Ph.D., C.N.S., is a sports nutritionist in the
Department of Human Nutrition, Food and Animal Science,
University of Hawaii-Manoa.