Chapter Review

BRING IT HOME

CHAPTER 2 BRING IT HOME

What’s in a claim?

With your grocery list in hand, you reach for crackers and notice a reduced-fat variety of your favorite brand. Using the two product labels below compare the Nutrition Facts Panel and ingredients listing to address these questions:

  1. Complete this table using the Nutrition Facts Panels for the original and reduced-fat cracker varieties shown below.

    Calories Total Fat (g) Total Fat %DV Saturated Fat (g) Saturated Fat %DV Sodium (mg) Sodium %DV Carbo-hydrate (g) Dietary Fiber (g) Sugars (g)
    Crackers— original
    Crackers— reduced fat
    Differences (+/–)

  2. What is the difference between the daily value (DV) for total and saturated fat? How might calorie content make a difference when comparing DVs of two similar products?

  3. Besides differences in total and saturated fat content, are there any other differences that you observe?

  4. Review the ingredient list for each of these products. What are the differences in ingredients or the order of ingredients between the two products?

  5. Which of these two products would you consider purchasing and why?

  6. Would you consider these crackers a food product that should be a regular choice or an occasional part of one’s diet? Explain.

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Svetlana Foote/Shutterstock

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KEY IDEAS

KEY IDEAS

  • A healthy diet is a pattern of eating characterized by variety, balance, adequacy, and moderation that promotes health and reduces risk of chronic disease.

  • A healthy diet emphasizes nutrient-dense foods that provide a higher proportion of nutrients relative to calories.

  • A healthy diet balances energy-dense and nutrient-dense foods. Energy density is a measure of the calorie content of a food relative to a given weight.

  • The Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGAs) provide evidence-based recommendations for healthy eating patterns that focus on variety and nutrient-density and limit calories from added sugars and saturated fats and reduce sodium intake to reduce risk of chronic disease and promote overall health. Revised every five years, the DGAs are the cornerstone of federal nutrition policy and nutrition education initiatives.

  • MyPlate (at www.ChooseMyPlate.gov) is based on the DGAs and provides a visual representation of the ideal balance of food groups.

  • International food guides share common recommendations of consuming more plant-based foods, choosing lean protein sources, limiting intake of sugar and sodium, minimizing intake of unhealthy fats, controlling portion sizes, and increasing physical activity.

  • The Nutrition Labeling and Education Act (NLEA) of 1990 gives the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the authority to oversee the labeling of food products and standardizes the presentation of nutrition information on food labels.

  • The Nutrition Facts Panel provides specific information about the serving size, calorie content, and other mandatory nutrition information.

  • The percent Daily Value (or %DV) on the Nutrition Facts Panel is the percent of a nutrient provided by a standard serving of a food in relation to the approximate goal for that nutrient. Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000-calorie diet.

  • The NLEA established guidelines for the three types of claims that can be used on food and dietary supplement labels: nutrient content claims, health claims, and structure/function claims.

  • Nutrient, health, and structure/function claims on a food or dietary supplement label are statements regulated by the FDA that refer to nutrient content, potential health benefits, or the specific structure or function effects of a food or food component in the body. Health claims are evaluated and approved by the FDA; structure/function claims are not.

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NEED TO KNOW

NEED TO KNOW

Review Questions

Question 2.13

1. Which of the following is true with regard to a healthy diet?

  1. A healthy diet emphasizes nutrient-dense over energy-dense foods.

  2. A healthy diet provides calories and nutrients in amounts necessary to promote good health.

  3. A healthy diet is characterized by adequacy, balance, variety, and moderation.

  4. All of the above.

1. d

Question 2.14

2. Emphasizing nutrient-dense foods and reducing intake of energy-dense foods while meeting overall energy needs typically results in:

  1. less dietary fiber and reduced overall volume of food intake.

  2. increased intake of dietary fat and risk of overweight and obesity.

  3. greater likelihood of achieving recommended intake of essential nutrients.

  4. dietary inadequacies that may contribute to nutrient deficiencies.

2. c

Question 2.15

3. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGAs) are characterized by all of the following, EXCEPT:

  1. they are updated every 10 years.

  2. they are science-based guidelines to promote health and reduce risk of chronic disease.

  3. they stress consumption of nutrient-dense foods.

  4. they encourage limiting added sugar intake to 10% of total calories.

3. a

Question 2.16

4. The DGAs recommend that sodium intake should:

  1. be limited to 3,000 milligrams/day for all Americans older than 2 years.

  2. be restricted to 1,500 milligrams/day for individuals with high blood pressure.

  3. be balanced with overall calorie intake to prevent fluid retention.

  4. be limited only if older than 30 years.

4. b

Question 2.17

5. All of the following are true regarding the USDA MyPlate food guide, EXCEPT:

  1. it replaced the Food Guide Pyramid in 2011.

  2. it has an online web site to help individualize recommendations.

  3. it is designed to depict food choices across food groups at meals.

  4. it is designed specifically for use by children rather than adults.

5. d

Question 2.18

6. The World Health Organization’s dietary guidelines:

  1. reinforce recommendations from other countries around the world.

  2. focus exclusively on malnutrition in the form of nutrient deficiency disease.

  3. contradict the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

  4. recommend complete avoidance of sugar and salt.

6. a

Question 2.19

7. The Nutrition Labeling and Education Act of 1990 requires all of the following, EXCEPT:

  1. health claims must be approved by FDA before use on food labels.

  2. listing of ingredients in a food product on the label.

  3. using a standardized Nutrition Facts Panel on food products.

  4. warning if a food product contains excessive amounts of sugar or sodium.

7. d

Question 2.20

8. Percent daily value (%DV) on processed food packages is:

  1. developed specifically for use on food labels.

  2. based on an average 1,800-calorie intake.

  3. the level of nutrients that should not be exceeded.

  4. established by food manufacturers.

8. a

Question 2.21

9. On a nutrition label, the list of ingredients:

  1. is in alphabetical order.

  2. begins with the ingredient that comprises the highest proportion of the product’s weight.

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  3. begins with the ingredient with the highest caloric density.

  4. begins with any potential ingredient that might cause an allergic reaction.

9. b

Question 2.22

10. Currently, health claims that can appear on food labels:

  1. can guarantee that consumption of a food will reduce risk of specific diseases.

  2. have been approved by the FDA.

  3. can appear on any processed food even if high in saturated fat, cholesterol, or sodium.

  4. are based exclusively on research and evidence provided by the food manufacturer.

10. b

Take It Further

More than 60% of U.S. consumers report referring to the Nutrition Facts Panel when selecting food products. Even if you do not typically look to food labels to guide your food selections and purchases, consider the information included on a standardized label. Discuss what you typically (or might) look at first on a food label and why. How does the information on the food label help you determine whether to purchase a particular product?

Dietary Analysis Using SuperTracker

Dietary Analysis Using SuperTracker

Diet planning and diet analysis using food groups

In this exercise you will evaluate a day’s worth of meals for distribution and abundance of foods from each of the food groups.

Question 2.23

1. Log onto the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) website at www.supertracker.usda.gov. If you have not done so already, you will need to create a profile to get a personalized diet plan. This profile will allow you to save your information and diet intake for future reference. Do not use the general plan.

Question 2.24

2. Click the Track Food and Activity option.

Question 2.25

3. Record your food and beverage intake for one day that most reflects your typical eating patterns. Enter each food and beverage you consumed into the food tracker. Note that there may not always be an exact match to the food or beverage that you consumed, so select the best match available.

Question 2.26

4. Once you have entered all of your food and beverage choices into the food tracker, on the right side of the page under the bar graph, you will see Related Links: View by Meal. Print this report and use it to answer the following questions:

  1. Did you meet the minimum recommended servings for each food group (including oils) on the day you selected?

  2. What food groups, if any, are you lacking? List three specific diet changes you can make now to meet the recommended servings for the food groups you are missing or lacking.

  3. Discuss how the following factors influence your food choices: taste preferences, food trends and advertising, time available for meals, eating habits, and the cost of food. Which factor is the most important and why?

  4. According to the food tracker, did you go over the allowance for empty calorie foods for this day? Is this typical of your normal eating habits?

  5. List two pieces of information that you look for on food labels. Why are these important to you?

  6. What have you learned about your eating behaviors from doing this assignment that you weren’t aware of before?