FDA takes a look at serving sizes

by kiwilog

The Food and Drug Administration is fighting obesity in the country, and one of its goals is to ask food manufacturers to put nutritional information (including the calorie and fat amounts) on the front of food packages. Sounds like a great idea to me! But there’s one little snag: Before they can ask companies to move labels to the front of boxes, the FDA has to look at serving sizes.

Suggested serving sizes on labels can be pretty misleading. Take for example the bag of (all-natural, trans fat-free, baked) chips I had with my lunch today. The label lists 120 calories and 4.5 grams of fat—not super healthy, but not too bad. However, even though it’s a small bag that’s clearly meant to be eaten in one sitting, the serving size is 1.5 servings per bag. That boosts the calories up to 200 and the fat to nearly 7 grams (and it means I’ll be spending more time on the treadmill tonight!).

Many serving sizes just don’t reflect the way people actually eat. Children’s cereals may list a serving size of 3/4 cup, but kids often eat twice that amount, if not more, according to this article from The New York Times. And those prepackaged, supposedly heart-healthy soups that are so handy for on-the-go lunches? They could be meant for two meals, not one.

It all goes to show how important it is to read nutritional labels, even on things that are supposedly healthy. And nothing beats whole foods that aren’t prepackaged: You don’t have to wonder whether that apple is one serving or two!

Michelle, KIWI Editor

Tags: family, food, nutrition