- Half-grain labels on cereals, bread and crackers are so confusing or misleading that people can misread them up to half the time, according to a new study published in Nutrition of public health.
- Of the 1,030 participants, 51 percent estimated the amount of whole grains in sample of 12-grain bread products and 41 percent estimated the total grain count in multigrain crackers.
- Researchers at Tufts University and New York University say the results provide legal evidence for changes in labeling regulations.
As runners (and humans), health experts tell us to eat more and more whole grains. Not only do these healthy carbohydrates burn us 5Ks, but a diet rich in whole grains is also associated with a significantly lower risk of most chronic diseases and early death.
The USDA recommends that most adults eat at least three servings (per day if you are very active) based on grain. A serving is about one piece of bread, one cup of cold cereal, or half a cup of cooked rice, pasta, or cooked cereal. At least half of your daily grain portion would come from whole grains.
The problem is that the labels on food packaging can be so confusing – and often misleading – that even the most discerning consumer can easily end up choosing a less healthy product without knowing it, according to a study by New York University researchers. (NYU) and Tufts University.
In the study, a group of 1,030 adults were shown photos of both hypothetical products intended to imitate real products on the market, as well as current products.
The photos showed cereals, crackers and bread, with various whole grain labeling on the front of the package, along with the label of facts for nutrition and ingredient list for each product. Participants were asked to identify the healthier option regarding whole grains for the hypothetical products and to evaluate the whole grain content for the real products.
The packages on the hypothetical products either did not have a label on the front of the package or were marked with “multigrain,” “made with whole grains,” as a whole grain stamp. The packages on the real products show the actual product labels, including “multigrain,” “honey wheat,” and “12 grain.”
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When selecting the healthiest hypothetical products, 29 to 47 percent of respondents answered incorrectly, with 31 percent choosing wrong for cereals, 29 to 37 percent for crackers, and 47 percent for bread.
They did not feel much better when asked to rate the total grain content of real products. Twenty-one percent overestimated the whole grain content for multigrain crackers, 43 percent overestimated the whole grains in honey wheat bread, and 51 percent estimated the whole grains in 12-grain bread.
The participants advised best when it came to assessing the total grain content in oat grains, which actually consisted mostly of whole grains.
“Our research results show that many consumers are unable to correctly identify the amount of whole grains or select a healthier whole grain product,” said first author Parke Wilde, Ph.D., a food economist and professor at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University said in a press release. “Manufacturers have many ways to convince you that a product has whole grain, even if it does not. They can tell you it’s multigrain, or they can color it brown, but those signals do not really indicate the full grain content. “
The study was intended to assess whether consumers’ misunderstanding of the labels meets a legal standard for improved U.S. label requirements for whole grain products. If the labels are misleading or misleading, health care professionals can push professionals for stronger regulation.
“With the results of this study, we have a strong legal argument that whole grain labels are misleading,” coauthor Jennifer L. Pomeranz, MPH, assistant professor of public health policy and management at NYU School of Global Public Health, said in the release. ‘I would say when it comes to misleading labels, claims about’ whole grain ‘are one of the worst. Even people with advanced degrees can not figure out how much whole grain is in these products. “
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Most people do not get enough high quality carbohydrates in their diet, which is important to refuel your runes and other workouts.
“A large fraction of Americans’ daily calories – 42 percent – come from low-quality carbohydrates. Consuming more whole grains may help change that, but the policy challenge is to give consumers clear labels to make those healthier choices, ”said co-senior author Fang Fang Zhang, Ph.D., nutritional epidemiologist at Friedman School, in the release.
You can remove confusion from food labels by looking at the ingredient list, Wilde said Runner’s World, which is ordered from highest to lowest amounts in the package. In addition, he suggests looking for products where the first grain ingredient explicitly says whole grain, such as “whole wheat flour” or “brown rice,” because consumers may be deceived by a brown coloring of a grain product or labels such as “multigrain,” “” 12-grain, “” fortified, “or” contains whole grain, “all allowed on products that are mostly refined grains.
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