Study: Americans Lack Knowledge About Calories

JULIE GALLAGHER

WASHINGTON — Few Americans can accurately estimate the number of calories they should consume in a day (12%), but a much larger portion — nearly three in four (74%) — seek caloric information on the Nutrition Facts Panel, according to the International Food Information Council’s 2010 Food & Healthy Survey.

“I find it interesting that people don’t know how many calories they need in a day but they still look at calorie information on the food package,” Wendy Reinhardt Kapsak, senior director of health and wellness for IFIC, told SN. “Sometimes consumers [come up with] their own thresholds. So maybe they won’t go over 500 calories for a frozen meal.”

Respondents also lack understanding of the “calories in, calories out” concept as it relates to weight, according to researchers who found that the majority of Americans (58%) make no effort to balance the two. Of those who say they are trying to lose or maintain weight, only 19% keep track of calories. What’s more is that four in 10 Americans don’t know how many calories they burn in a day (43%) or they offer inaccurate estimates (35% say 1,000 calories or less).

“One might eat a little more if they’re going to exercise or eat a little less if they’re not going to,” said Reinhardt Kapsack. “But we found the majority aren’t really making any effort to do [either].”

Among other findings:

• Seven in 10 Americans (70%) are concerned about their weight and 80% are trying to lose or maintain weight. They’re attempting this by changing the amount of food they eat (69%), changing the type of food they eat (63%) and engaging in physical activity (60%).

• More than half of Americans (53%) are concerned with the amount of sodium in their diet and are more likely to look for sodium content on the Nutrition Facts Panel than in previous years.

• When it comes to sources of food, nutrition and food safety information, the food label is most popular (62%), followed by friends/family (40%), grocery store, drug store or specialty store (29%) and health professionals (28%).

More than 1,000 respondents participated in the survey during a 2½-week period in April and May.