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“I set my own nutrient criteria for reading food labels.” This was the overwhelming message from the survey. The toughest cut-off was set for fat content - 0% (0g / 100g). But all percentages up to 10% fat were reported by at least one person indicating a very individual target for fat in foods.

Avid label readers

The majority of survey respondents (85%) `almost always' read nutrition information on food labels whereas only 4% almost never read nutrition information. Other parts of the food label received less attention:

• 67% almost always check nutrition claims - 9% almost never
• 59% check the ingredients list - 6% almost never check it
• 52% check the use-by or best-before date - 8% almost never check it
• 22% check the country of origin - 30% almost never do
• 12% check allergy alerts - 65% almost never do

Checking the nutrition information panel on the back of food packaging is important to verify any nutrition claims, at least the first time you buy a food product. One survey participant said, “I look at the nutritional claims for my own 'bad science' amusement as I compare the claim to the actual nutritional breakdown and then get on my soapbox and annoy my girlfriend with a rant on how food marketing should be regulated.”

Checking nutrition information

The most popular piece of information checked on a nutrition information panel (NIP) was Fat / 100g with almost three quarters (74%) `almost always' checking this figure on a new food. Fat/serve and Sugars/100g were the second most checked contents with two thirds (67%) almost always looking at these numbers. Here are the percentages, listed in descending order, of survey respondents who `almost always' checked the criteria we listed:

1. Fat / 100g (74%)
2. Fat / Serve (67%)
3. Sugars / 100g (67%)
4. kJ / 100g (64%)
5. Sugars / Serve (63%)
6. Saturated fat / 100g (63%)
7. kJ / Serve (55%)
8. Carbohydrate total / 100g (55%)
9. Carbohydrate / Serve (55%)
10. Saturated fat / Serve (53%)
11. Protein / 100g (51%)
12. Protein / Serve (46%)
13. Serve size (45%)
14. Fibre / 100g (31%)
15. Sodium / 100g (30%)
16. Omega-3 fats / 100g (28%)
17. Fibre / Serve (22%)
18. Omega-3 fats / Serve (20%)
19. Sodium / Serve (20%)

Specific criteria for choosing foods

Just over half (51%) of survey participants said they set `specific numbers regarding nutrition criteria when choosing new foods'. The other half said they had not set any specific criteria. The lack of criteria may indicate that half the respondents either choose naturally healthy foods and don't need to use criteria, or they could really benefit from establishing some guideline nutrient cut-off points for choosing foods.

It's always useful to ask a client if they have set any specific numerical criteria for choosing foods for weight loss. Without criteria for fat, sugar or total kilojoules, food choices will be more random which could hinder getting results.

If you haven't set criteria yet, SmartShape subscribers have lots of good advice to follow. We asked those who had set specific nutrient criteria to share their targets. Here's what we found.

Fat
Cut-offs covered the full range of fat contents up to 10% (10g/100g) fat. Some people set zero percent, others 1%, 2%, 3% and so on. Some people obviously set more strict criteria than others to guide their food choices. The most popular cut-off was 5% fat, which represents a reasonable target.

There is no nationally recognised guideline cut-off point for choosing foods according to fat content. According to the Food Standards Code in Australia and New Zealand, a claim of `low-fat' can only appear on the label of a food if it contains 3g or less of fat. Using this criteria for all foods however, is difficult. Some foods naturally contain more fat than others. It's more challenging to find a low-fat cheese than a low-fat savoury cracker, so you'll need to set your criteria a bit higher for cheese and other naturally fatty foods.

The survey revealed this is what people do. Different criteria applied to different foods. For example, meat less than 10% fat, but dairy products no more than 5% fat. One person said, “I will usually choose the product with the lowest fat content per 100g as long as I know it still tastes good.”

To obtain the National Heart Foundation (NHF) Tick of Approval, foods generally need to limit fat content to 5% or 10% total fat if saturated fats make up less than 20% of the total fat content.

Sugars
The most common criteria adopted for sugar was a limit of 10% (10g / 100g) sugar. Sometimes tougher criteria was used, but with flexibility. One person said, “I try to go for nil sugar if possible, otherwise 5% only, which includes all the ones added. Better off natural if possible.” Another said, “I try for the sugars to be much less than the total carbs except where the ingredient is fruit.”

Similar to fat content, some foods naturally contain more sugars than others and if you are going to include these in your diet, you need to have flexibility. For example, fruit contains fructose as its form of natural sugar. An apple contains about 12% sugar and a banana 17%. And the natural sugar in yoghurt is lactose. Most fruit yoghurts contain about 14% sugar, which is from the naturally present lactose, fructose from the fruit and added sucrose. You can't tell how much of each type is included.

Naturally present sugar contains the same calories as added sugar. Sucrose is natural too but it doesn't come bundled up with other nutrients like fibre, vitamins and minerals that you'll find in fruit and yoghurt. It just adds `empty calories' to foods.

If you don't need the extra calories, aim to limit `added sugars' in foods. And make sure you cut back on sweet treats like lollies or high-sugar snack bars before you place limits on fruit or dairy. A minimum of two fruit and two dairy serves a day is required for good health.

Kilojoules
There were some specific energy contents that people aimed to limit. One participant said, “No more than 500kJ for a snack and about 1,000-1,500kJ for a main meal.”

These are reasonable targets for someone aiming for an energy-restricted diet for weight loss. Consuming three meals of 1,200kJ (about the number of kJ in a Lean Cuisine meal portion) and three snacks of 600kJ (about the energy in a low-fat snack bar or low-fat yogurt and more than in a piece of fruit) will net you 5,400kJ for the day. This is roughly the same as the diet plans in most diet books, including the CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet.

This energy intake pattern may not suit active people, so criteria may need to be higher. For a rugby player with a daily energy requirement of 15,000kJ it may not matter how much energy he consumes. The only food choice criteria may be to be “Eat big and eat often!”

Protein
The small number of people who indicated they set criteria for protein weren't too specific about their targets. `Higher protein' or `as high as possible' was often written, but no numbers. One person said, “At least 20g of protein per meal.”

So what should the target criteria for protein be? The protein content of foods varies considerably so a common cut-off is hard to apply. A bodybuilding weight gain powder can be 90% protein, a beef steak 30%, Weet-Bix 12%, milk 3.5% and a piece of fruit only 0.5% protein.

If you are aiming to increase your protein intake it may be better to keep a tally of how your protein intake adds up throughout the day. In Australia, the Recommended Dietary Intake (RDI) for protein is 1.0g / kg for the general population. For athletes and people looking for muscle growth adding 50% more protein (1.5g / kg) is likely to meet your needs.

An 80kg body builder could aim for 120g protein each day. Checking food labels and tallying up the protein content of foods for at least a day or so would help let you know if you are on target.

What nutrition criteria should I look for?

So, what is a healthy pie and what should you look for on the nutrition information panel when choosing healthy bread? As mentioned earlier for fat content, there are no nationally recognised nutrient criteria for what makes a food healthy.

There are some guidelines that have been established by various food logo endorsement schemes like the NHF's Pick the Tick Program. When a food meets the criteria set by the NHF, GI Symbol, Sports Dietitians or the NSW School Canteens Association it can be generally regarded as healthy. Note that healthy doesn't mean the food will be lowest in calories.

In general, here are the target nutrient levels to get approval:

Fat - 5g / 100g or 10g / 100g when saturated fats make up no more than 20% of the total fat content.

Sugar - Mostly 'No added sugar' or around 15-20 g / 100g for breakfast cereals and sweet snacks.

Salt - Sodium is limited to around 350 - 400mg / 100g.

Fibre - 3g / Serve for cereals, snacks and fruit.

Calories / kilojoules - The is often no criteria for total energy, as limiting fat and sugar will limit energy. However, the NSW School Cantee Association does give a green light rating to snacks no more than 300 kJ, and orange light to ones up to 600 kJ and a red light to those snacks over 600 kJ.

If you don't have time to read food labels…

I didn't ask a survey question about the exact time it takes you to read food labels, but I'm sure for some it's a long process. One response was, “When I do the `buy Australian made and owned' thing, minimal packaging, no GM, hormone free, watch the salt, take care with fat and sugar, etc when shopping for food - I take ages. It's easier to go for as much fresh, unprocessed food as possible, then I don't feel as inclined to `have to' check!”

Who responded to the survey?

104 people of which 80% were female

Age groups

The greatest number of respondents were in the 25-34 age group.
2% (< 18 years), 16% (18-24 years), 39% (25-34 years), 24% (35-44 years), 14.4% (45-54), 5% (> 55 years).

A big thank you to all who completed the survey!

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