Case Study #1Serving size labeling has positively impacted the health of Americans

Strategies and approach

• Our strategy when beginning this case study was to divide the work up evenly by topics to get more information faster. Each team member took on 2 topics such as marketing and scientific research. For the three stakeholders, each member researched all three in order to compare our results.

Problem/Perspective• Serving sizes have varied

greatly during different time periods and have generally increased over time.

• Research suggests that people view these changes to serving sizes on nutritional labels as only suggestions.

• Just around 54% of Americans often read the label on the back of a food product.

• If serving sizes continue to increase, it is predicted that those people following the labels and sizes will be negatively affected.

Background• The Fair Packaging and

Labeling Act required all consumer products made and sold in America to be honestly and informatively labeled.

• Shortly after, the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act standardized serving size by the Secretary of Health and Human Services on these labels.

• These acts were passed in order to inform the consumer as to what they were eating and how much is recommended to eat.

Why is this important?

• There are growing concerns on the issue of serving size and how it may affect the eating habits of Americans and overall affect the obesity rates.

Key Stakeholders • 1. Producers:

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fh_ex2mTkJM

• Some producers must change their serving size to 1 per package in order to ensure consumers do not eat a full package in one sitting and raise awareness.

• 2. Consumers:

• over 50% of consumers do not obey nutritional labels

• Research suggests that nutrition labels are more likely to be used by those with higher income, caucasian females/young adults, and those who are chronically ill

• Research also indicates that minorities, men, and unmarried individuals are less likely to read nutrition labels

• 3. Government:

• The FDA is proposing new nutritional label formats (calories more prominent to address obesity, cardiovascular disease, etc) and more accurately catering serving sizes to the consumption of consumers.

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZ2QcMsKn6M

• Secondary stakeholder: Schools

original v proposed

Key issues and importance

• Will the proposed changes to the serving size that appears on nutritional labels give Americans a false sense of how much is appropriate to consume?

• Since the general serving size may increase across the board, schools will have to alter and ultimately increase the minimum and maximum caloric intake for students meals. This means more food will have to be provided for students.

Currently:

What we learned• One very significant fact we can

all take away from this project is that serving size changes are pending and we should be aware of how this may affect our mentality on eating and food label information.

• We did not expect to find that unmarried individuals are less likely to read food labels and follow serving size suggestions.

• The change of serving size and food labeling format is challenging the typical view of health provided by what the nutrition label is now (The label and serving sizes haven’t changed since 1993).

Our ending thoughts • Our team as a whole was able to

reach the consensus that the attention given to serving size and labeling will decrease due to the standards becoming more average.

• Logical that if the serving size goes up, people will feel less obligated to watch the label to see if they are following suggestions and obesity rates will continue to grow

• False security and the mentality that we can eat more and still meet nutritional guidelines

• However, we do feel that the serving sizes that are based on packaging give those who do read the labels and follow suggestions a very realistic view.

APA Citations• “Behavioral Scientist: Changing Serving Sizes on Nutrition Facts Label Could Have Unintended Consequences”(2014, July 21).

Retrieved September 24, 2014, from http://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/Regulation/Could-new-serving-sizes-on-Nutrition-Facts-label-backfire?utm_source=copyright&utm_medium=OnSite&utm_campaign=copyright

• “FDA to Change Food Labels, Serving Sizes”(2014, February 27). Retrieved September 24, 2014, Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZ2QcMsKn6M

• “Food Serving Sizes Getting a Reality Check” (2014, March 7). Retrieved September 24, 2014, from http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm386203.htm

• “From Waller to Waistline: The Hidden Costs of “Super Sizing” (n.d.). Retrieved September 24, 2014, from http://thrive.preventioninstitute.org/portionsizerept.html#top

• “Proposed Changes to the Nutrition Facts Label” (2014, August 1). Retrieved September 24, 2014, from http://www.fda.gov/Food/GuidanceRegulation/GuidanceDocumentsRegulatoryInformation/LabelingNutrition/ucm385663.htm#serving_size

• “SERVING SIZE ME”(2014, April 3). Retrieved September 24, 2014, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fh_ex2mTkJM

• “Significant Dates in U.S. Food and Drug Law History” (2014, March 25). Retrieved September 24, 2014, from http://www.fda.gov/AboutFDA/WhatWeDo/History/Milestones/ucm128305.htm

• “The Importance of Portion Information From a Consumer and Health Perspective” (2012, November). Retrieved September 24, 2014, from http://www.eufic.org/article/en/expid/importance-portion-information-from-consumer-health-perspective/

• “The New (Ab)Normal: Portion Sizes today vs. In The 1950s (INFOGRAPHIC)” (2012, May 23). Retrieved September 24, 2014, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/23/portion-sizes-infographic_n_1539804.html

• United States Department of Agriculture. (2011). New meal pattern requirements and nutrition standards. Retrieved September, 24, 2014 from http://www.fns.usda.gov/sites/default/files/LAC_03-06-12_0.pdf

• Wikipedia (n.d.). Retrieved September 24, 2014, from Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sociology_of_health_and_illness