Dieters are more likely to look at food labels
Dieters are more likely to read and understand food labels than people who aren’t dieting, according to new research.
The results show that the slimming group in the study used food labels much more frequently than non-dieters. They also had an increased nutritional awareness and felt more confident to make healthier choices.
The participants were questioned on their mood, wellbeing and how they controlled what they ate and their food shopping habits, the results found that there was a strong trend in the slimming group between weight satisfaction and overall higher wellbeing.
The study, by Audrey Spencer from Lancaster University, concluded that reading and understanding food labels makes people think more about what they eat.
Audrey Spencer explained: “People who are trying to lose weight make much more effort to read the labels on food than other people do. Reading labels informs people about what is in their food and helps them to make decisions about what they will and won’t eat. As a result, choosing not to eat unhealthy foods can help them to lose weight and this has an effect on their overall wellbeing.
“We need to educate people to understand what is in the food they are eating. There still seems to be a lot of confusion about what constitutes a healthy diet and the different labelling in supermarkets adds to this. The government should give greater priority to education relating to healthy eating rather than having an over-reliance on food labelling by manufacturers and retailers. If people have a better understanding they will make healthier choices. This in turn could alleviate some of the burden that unhealthy choices have on the NHS.”
Tagged in Diet weight Weight loss