A study has shown that showing enough information on the nutritional content of different food items can help people choose the right kind of food needed to pursue a healthy lifestyle.
Researchers from Cornell University studied the correlation of food labels and making healthy eating choices, which was published in the journal Apetite. Professor David Levitsky of nutritional sciences field leads the research.
He explains, "Our study is one of the few definitive studies demonstrating, at least in a university dining hall, that putting calories and fat content on the label on various foods purchased in the dining hall produces a reduction in calories and fat content purchased."
A significant decline of 7% of the mean total calories which students bought before and after labels were displayed during the three-semester record, which was collected each week.
Low-fat and low-calorie products increased in sales in contrast to the reduction of the high ones as noted in The Malaysian Insider.
According to CTV News, cases of obesity increase because of steady growth in daily calorie intake.
A rule was issued by the US Food and Dairy Administration (FDA) in the previous year requiring restaurants and fast food outlets to display the nutritional values of their meals. The policy has helped diners gain an awareness to what they actually order and consume.
New York Daily News notes that 75% of the respondents admit that seeing the calorie count of the food they are consuming is helpful. High-calorie content food offered in chain restaurants in the US will be revealed because of this policy.
More than 1,000 individuals participated in the aforementioned survey, which was done by WebMD, a mobile medical source in the U.S. Most of them were glad of the law and became more mindful in picking from the menu.
