In the constant debate over the obesity issue in America, the FDA is trying to find new ways to make our country aware of the food they are consuming. The FDA is strongly considering changing the standard serving sizes on certain food items that are considered unhealthy. Such items include chips, ice cream and sugary breakfast cereals. Another measure being put up is moving nutritional information from the back of boxes to the front. Officials believe this might cause people to think twice before they even bother purchasing an unhealthy item. However, the current standard for serving sizes does not even come close to accurately reflecting how the American population eats. A serving of cereal can be 3/4 of a cup, or about only 1/2 of what the typical consumer actually eats. This is creating a false image as to the amount of calories and fat content that is being eaten. One example provided in the article is that Tostitos with a hint of lime says one serving (1 oz) only has 150 calories. So a person deciding to have these for a snack thinks to themselves that is not that bad. However, 1 oz of Tostitos is only equivelant to about 6 chips. And honestly, who only eats 6 chips, or for that matter only 12 or 18. As it says in the article, that makes it very easy to consume half a days worth of calories in a simple single session of snacking. Supporters believe that by making serving sizes more accurate, people will more accurately be able to estimate how many calories they truely are consuming.
I guess a similar idea was considered back in 2005 but the FDA never officially went through with it. This makes many people in the public wary as to when we will, if we do, see this go into affect. I personally think this is a good motion, but I think it will need to be wide spread and people will need to be well-educated on the change. Otherwise people will be delusional to what they are now eating. The opposition to this idea is afraid that if people are not aware of what is really trying to be accomplished they will completely misunderstand. They fear that people will think that if the serving size of cookies is increased from 1 oz to 2 oz, that the government is saying it is alright to eat more. When in reality, the government is simply trying to be more acurate. It will be interesting to see how the public reacts to this idea as it goes further and begins to be discussed more in the open.
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This is a great idea in theory. Making serving sizes accurate will help people to make better decisions when deciding what to consume. For some people, however, this will not make a difference, and American's will continue to eat how they do now. I think that the overall idea of making nutrition lables for unhealthy food more like a warning label is a great idea, since awareness is the first step in prevention, and America needs obesity prevention. I also think that accurate portion sizes would be another great way to prevent people from overconsuming, and becoming obese
ReplyDeleteI think putting a label on the front will help consumers compare all the different options. With the label on the back you would have to keep picking up boxes and putting them back but if they are on the front it is more convienent. Changing the serving size is also a good idea. You can sit on the couch with a bag of chips and not even notice how much you are really eating. A person could eat half the recommended calories in a day just snacking and that doesn't include a dip they might use. I wonder how much influence Michelle Obama will have with this issue.
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