Few young adults use nutrition labels
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* Julia Haskins

Few young adults are using nutrition labels, which means they may be missing out on important dietary health information, a recent study shows.

The study, published in February in the *Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics,* found that only one-third of young adults frequently use the federally mandated nutrition facts labels that appear on packaged foods.

The study looked at nutrition label use among 2,000 young adults ages 25 to 36. It found that young adults who used nutrition labels frequently were more likely to be women, have higher education and income, regularly prepare food and be physically active. Weight considerations also factored into how often young adults used labels. Frequent nutrition label use was higher among people who were classified as overweight as well as those who were trying to lose, gain or maintain their weight.

Nutrition label use was associated with certain healthy behaviors, including eating more fruits, vegetables, whole grains and fiber. People who used nutrition labels also consumed fewer added sugars and a smaller percentage of total calories from saturated fat and ate at fast-food restaurants less often.

Nutrition label readers looked at sugars, total calories, serving size and the ingredient list most often.

Studying nutrition label use among young adults is important because they are at an age at which they are forming lasting habits, said lead study author Mary Christoph, PhD, MPH, a postdoctoral fellow in the Division of General Pediatrics and Adolescent Health at the University of Minnesota Medical School. She added that young people may be thinking less about nutrition in terms of illness.

“This is a time that many young adults don’t struggle with disease the same way that older adults might,” Christoph told The Nation’s Health. “Maybe an older adult (does not) have diabetes or heart disease but they have a partner or are very close with people who do, so it’s on their radar,” she said.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration requires that most packaged foods include nutrition facts labels, which outline products’ nutritional content. Consumers can use nutrition facts labels to look at information such as the calories, fat, cholesterol and sugar in a packaged food product.

FDA in May 2016 announced changes to nutrition facts labels that will be mandatory for most food manufacturers by 2020. Changes will include a new design, updated information about nutrition science and updated serving sizes and labeling requirements for some package sizes.

The changes are expected to make nutrition labels easier to understand, Christoph said. She noted that people often struggle to compare nutritional content within labels as well as information across different labels. Public health needs to support labeling that is simple, easy to read and can be compared across products, she said.

Another consideration for public health is the relationship between nutrition label use and weight goals, especially when people are preoccupied with their weight or are at risk of eating disorders, according to the study.

“It’s really important to shift the conversation from being about weight, which is not a behavior, to being about behaviors that you can actually change,” Christoph said. “Nutrition is important independent of weight. Even if you’re able to maintain a healthy weight, it’s still really important that you have adequate nutrients for both short-term and long-term health.”

For more information, visit [http://jandonline.org/article/S2212-2672(17)31706-9/fulltext](http://jandonline.org/article/S2212-2672(17)31706-9/fulltext).

*   Copyright The Nation’s Health, American Public Health Association