Nutrition Labelling and Weight Maintenance

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Nutrition Labelling andWeight Maintenance
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Weight Maintenance

• The balance of energy intake and energy output so
  that we are neither overweight nor underweight.
• Benefits
• Reduce the risk of developing a number of chronic
  diseases, such as diabetes and heart diseases

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Energy Intake and Energy Output

• Energy intake The energy we get from eating
  foods and drinks
• Energy output The energy required for body
  functions and physical activities

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The Relationship BetweenEnergy and Body Weight

• Sources of energy
• 1 g fat 9 kilocalories
• 1 g protein 4 kilocalories
• 1 g carbohydrates 4 kilocalories
• 1 kilocalorie (kcal) 1 Cal 4.2 kilojoules
  (kJ)
• Unused energy will be stored as fat in the body

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Weight Reduction / Maintenance

• Should not just focus on fat intake when thinking
  about weight reduction or maintenance
• Reduce sugars intake as sugars being
  empty-calorie, i.e. providing energy but no
  other nutritional value.
• For weight reduction or maintenance, most
  important is
• To reduce energy intake (i.e. cutting energy
  intake, not just cutting fat and sugars intake)
• Increase the activity levels (e.g. exercise,
  sports)

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Weight Maintenance and Nutrition Labelling

• Using nutrition label can help us to find out and
  calculate energy intake

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Read and Use Nutrition Labels
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Examples of Recommended Format of Nutrition Label
Tabular format
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Examples of Recommended Format of Nutrition Label
Linear format (for small packages with total
surface area of less than 200 cm2)
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Required Nutrients on Nutrition Labels

• 17 (energy plus seven nutrients specified for
  labelling) i.e. energy, protein, total fat,
  saturated fat, trans fat, carbohydrates, sugars
  and sodium.
• Nutrient(s) involved in nutrition claim(s) (when
  the nutrition claim is on any type of fat, the
  amount of cholesterol must be declared as well).
• For other nutrients, declaration is voluntary

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Making Use of Nutrition Label

• Consumers can
• Compare the nutritional content among different
  foods for a healthier choice, e.g. choose food
  that is lower in fat, sodium (or salt) and sugars
• Understand the nutritional content of food and
  estimate their contribution to the overall diet
• To meet individuals dietary needs

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Three Simple Steps toRead Nutrition Label
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Three Simple Steps toRead Nutrition Label

• Step 1 
• Take note of the reference amount of food being
  used in the nutrition label
• Step 2 
• Read the energy and nutrient content together
  with the reference amount
• Step 3 
• Refer to the percentage Nutrient Reference Value
  (NRV), if available, to see if the food contains
  a lot or a little of energy or a nutrient in the
  food

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Step 1 Take note of the reference amount offood
being used in the nutrition label

• Expressed as per 100 g (or per 100 mL) of food

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Step 1 Take note of the reference amount offood
being used in the nutrition label

• Expressed as per serving (the serving size (in g
  or mL) and the no. of servings must be specified
  on the package)

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Step 1 Take note of the reference amount offood
being used in the nutrition label

• Expressed as per package (if the package contains
  only a single serving )

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Step 2 Read the energy and nutrient content
together with the reference amount

• Use nutrition label to compare between products
• Use nutrition label to calculate the amount of
  energy and nutrients you get from food

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Step 2A Use nutrition label tocompare between
products

• Products with nutritional content expresssed in
  the SAME reference amount

If reference amount is the SAME, you CAN COMPARE
between the products DIRECTLY
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Step 2A Use nutrition label tocompare between
products

• Products with nutritional content expresssed in
  DIFFERENT reference amounts

If reference amounts are DIFFERENT, you CANNOT
COMPARE between the products DIRECTLY
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Step 2A Use nutrition label tocompare between
products

• Products with nutritional content expresssed in
  DIFFERENT reference amounts

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Step 2BUse nutrition label to calculate the
amount of energy and nutrients you get from food

• The more you eat, the more you get
• If you eat 1 serving of biscuit
• Get 8 g of fat, 3.5 g of saturated fat
• If you eat 2 servings of biscuit
• Get 16 g of fat, 7 g of saturated fat

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Step 2BUse nutrition label to calculate the
amount of energy and nutrients you get from food

• Energy and nutrient content expressed as per 100
  g/mL

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Step 3 Refer to the percentage Nutrient
Reference Value (NRV), if available, to see if
the food contains a lot or a little of energy or
a nutrient in the food

• NRV is usually on a scale from 0 to 100.

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Step 3 Refer to the percentage Nutrient
Reference Value (NRV), if available, to see if
the food contains a lot or a little of energy or
a nutrient in the food

• For nutrients that needed to limit their intake
• E.g. total fat, saturated fat, sodium and sugars
• Look for foods that have lower NRV
• Get enough of nutrients that are good for health
• E.g. dietary fibre
• Look for foods that have higher NRV

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Use Nutrition Label to Choose Healthy Food
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Principles of Healthy Eating

• Choose a variety of food and eat cereals as the
  largest portion of food in every meal.
• Eat a lot of vegetables and fruit.
• Reduce the consumption of foodstuffs with high
  salt, fat and sugar content as well as those
  which are preserved.
• A daily fluid intake of 6 to 8 glasses (including
  clear soup, fruit juice and tea).
• Take meals regularly and in adequate amounts.
• (Source of information Department of Health)

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Nutrition Labelling is a Useful Tool for
Practising Healthy Eating

• Nutrition label and nutrition claim can help
  consumers choose healthier food in accordance
  with healthy eating principles and the Food
  Pyramid, e.g.
• Choose biscuits lower in fat and sodium (or salt)
• Choose dairy products lower in fat
• Choose beverages lower in sugars

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How to Choose Prepackaged Foods Lower in Energy,
Fat and Sugars
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Choosing Prepackaged Foods Lower in Energy, Fat
and Sugars

• Cut down on foods that are high in energy, fat
  and/or sugars
• Look for a lower fat version of a food item
• Fat provides the largest amount of energy amongst
  all nutrients, cutting one gram of fat intake
  means subtracting 9 kcal from a diet.
• Reduce sugars intake as sugars being
  empty-calorie, i.e. providing energy but no
  other nutritional value.

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Choosing Prepackaged Foods Lower in Energy, Fat
and Sugars

• Take note of relevant nutrition claim as a quick
  screening tool and
• Take three simple steps to read nutrition label

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Choosing Prepackaged Foods Lower in Energy, Fat
and Sugars

• Focus more on energy claims as claims on fat
  and/or sugars may not be good indicators of the
  energy content of the products
• Nutrition claim only gives a rough idea about the
  content of a particular nutrient, one should not
  make a food choice solely on the basis of a
  nutrition claim. In order to eat healthily, we
  should take note of other nutrients as well. For
  example, when buying a product with a low
  sugars claim, one should take note of the
  content of fat and other nutrients.

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Choosing Prepackaged Foods Lower in Energy, Fat
and Sugars

• Nutrient content claims in relation to energy,
  fat and sugars are classified into Free and
  Low claims.
• Specific Conditions of Nutrient Content Claims -

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Choosing Prepackaged Foods Lower in Energy, Fat
and Sugars

• Three Simple Steps to Read Nutrition Label
• Step 1 
• Take note of the reference amount of food being
  used in the nutrition label
• Step 2 
• Read and compare the nutritional content
• Step 3 
• Refer to the percentage Nutrient Reference Value
  (NRV) (If available)

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Choosing Prepackaged Foods Lower in Energy, Fat
and Sugars (Example 1)
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Choosing Prepackaged Foods Lower in Energy, Fat
and Sugars (Example 2)
Corn Flakes C
Corn Flakes D
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Choosing Prepackaged Foods Lower in Energy, Fat
and Sugars (Example 3)
Soup E

Soup F
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ENDS