Reading Food Labels
Reading food labels is a valuable skill to master during weight loss. In this article we'll show you how to read a food label and debunk some common misconceptions.
Nutrition Claims
Many food packets have nutritional claims on the front of them (e.g. 'reduced fat' or 'less fat'). But the best way to decide if a product is healthy is to turn it around and look at its nutritional information.
Nutritional Information
This lists the amount of energy, protein, fat, saturated fat, carbohydrate, sugar and sodium in a product. It also lists the amount of any nutrient referred to in the product's nutrition claim.
The first thing you should look at is the total amount of energy and fat in a product. If the energy is high while the fat content is low, you can assume that the majority of the energy comes from carbohydrate or sugar. Although this is a more favourable choice than a high fat food, it is still high in energy and there may be a better product available.
Nutritional information is provided per 100g of the product and per one serve of the product. To compare different products, look at the 'per 100g' columns of their nutritional information.
If a product claims 'less fat' on the front of its packet it doesn't necessarily contain less fat than an equivalent product. To illustrate this concept we have listed and fat and calorie content of some mayonnaise products:
| Mayonnaise | Cal / 100g | Fat (g) / 100g |
| Brand X Real Mayonnaise | 675 | 50 |
| Brand X Light Real Mayonnaise | 325 | 35 |
| Brand Y Traditional Mayonnaise | 675 | 70 |
| Brand Y Fat Free Mayonnaise | 125 | 2.5 |
| Brand Z Original Style Mayonnaise | 275 | 22.5 |
| Brand Z 97% Fat Free Mayonnaise | 100 | 2 |
There is a huge variation in the calorie and fat content of these mayonnaise products! That's why it's important to compare products based on their food labels rather than the nutritional claims on the front of their packets.
Similar Product, Similar Nutrition?
Not necessarily. A common example is breakfast cereals and breakfast bars. Many popular breakfast cereals are fortified with extra vitamins and minerals. However, breakfast bars based on the same breakfast cereals aren't necessarily fortified.
Always check the nutritional information on a product's packaging before making an assumption.
Net Weight
The net weight of a food product refers to the minimum weight which must, by law, be contained within the package. However the actual weight can be heavier than this: often 5-10% more and sometimes up to 50% more!
As the serving size and calorie content of the product is based on its net weight, you could be consuming extra calories without knowing it. Snack bars generally weight up to 30% more than the net weight stated on the package, so the packaging on Bar X may list a net weight of 37g and the corresponding number of calories as 130 but in actual fact it is 30% bigger and contains 170 calories! If you consumed Bar X every day for a year, you would have inadvertently consumed 14 600 extra calories, which equals approximately a 1-2kg weight gain per year!
The best way to circumvent this problem is to weigh your food before you eat it.
Interpreting food labels is just one of the many skills you will learn if you join a weight loss program at the Wesley Weight Management Clinic. For more information call us on 1800 567 348 or complete our online enquiry form.