Since September is National Childhood Obesity Month, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is encouraging kids to make healthy dietary choices by reading labels.
According to a press release from the FDA, “The Nutrition Facts Label is a simple tool available on food and beverage packages. It lets kids know exactly what they’re eating and helps them choose and compare snacks and other foods. The earlier kids start using the Nutrition Facts Label, the sooner they’ll be making choices that keep them feeling great and on the path to long-term good health.”
The FDA encourages parents, caregivers, and others who interact with young people to also help model label-reading by following these key steps:
- Check the serving size. All of the nutrition information listed on the Nutrition Facts Label is based on one serving of that food. But, it’s common for one package of a food to contain more than oneserving. If a package contains two (or more) servings and you eat the entire package, you are consuming two (or more) times the number of calories and nutrients listed on the Label. So be sure to check!
- Consider the calories. For weight management (whether it’s to lose, gain, or maintain weight), it’s important to pay attention to the calories. The overall goal is to balance how many calories you eat with how many calories your body uses. As a general rule, 400 or more calories per serving for a single food item is high and 100 calories is moderate.
- Choose nutrients wisely. There are certain nutrients that young people should aim to get “less of.” These are saturated fat,sodium, and sugars. Kids can use the Percent Daily Value (%DV) on the Nutrition Facts Label to find foods that are lower in saturated fat and sodium. Here’s an easy guideline: 5%DV or less of a nutrient means the food is low in that nutrient, and 20%DV or more means it’s high! Sugars have no %DV, so remind kids to use the amount of grams (g) as a guide.
