More Americans are reading nutrition labels and knows the calorie counts of the foods they eat, but most do not have a clue how many calories they really need, a new research shows.
Nearly nine of 10 people surveyed had no idea how many calories they should eat at a given day to maintain a healthy weight. Forty-three percent refused to venture a guess and four of five people who guessed, has guessed it wrong.
Online research was performed by the International Food Foundation (IFIC) to evaluate the knowledge and behaviors of Americans in relation to diet, physical activity and weight.
While 60% of the 1,000 people surveyed reported have read the nutritional facts panels on food labels "always" or "most of the time" for the first time purchases, only 2% said they "ate Less calories "when requested to name specific changes they were doing to improve their diets.
Most people searched also did not know or did not believe in the saying ", a calorie is a calorie is a calorie."
Calories To Fat Loss - How Many Calories Should I Eat Today?
"What this research tells us is that most of the American consumers confused on how to use caloric information to make changes to their general diet in order to improve their health overall or to better manage their weight" , says the President of the IFIC Foundation, Susan T. Borrra, Rd.
So how many calories should you eat every day? If you do not know, you are in good company.
"Even though I do not know that", nationally known nutritionist and author Marion Nestle, PhD, MPH, tells WebMD.
Calorie needs to vary a lot according to age, sex and activity level of a person. The US Agriculture Department has developed a chart to help people meet their specific calorie needs, which can be found online at www.mypyramid.gov/pyramid/disceirary_calories_amount.html.
According to formula, a 25-year-old man exercising 30 to 60 minutes every day with moderate or vigorous activity should eat about 2,800 calories per day, while a 65-year-old sedentary woman needs only 1,600 calories. A 45-year-old active man needs 2,600 calories, while an active woman at the same age needs 2,000 (also for 30 to 60 minutes of exercise every day).
nestle says that the formula is useful only for people who "keep calorie charts in their heads or do not eat anything but processed foods with labels."
But it agrees that most people are very confusing about nutrition and calories.
"If I could teach people to help them maintain weight, it would be that the larger portions have more calories," she says.
Borra agrees that it is simplistic and is not particularly useful to send the message that weight loss is just a matter of taking fewer calories than you spend. It says that the USDA formula is just a tool that people can use to better understand their nutritional needs.
"It's just a starting point," says WebMD.
In addition to calories, the survey discovered that there is still a lot of confusion about the role that carbohydrates play on a healthy diet.
Three of four people surveyed said they were trying to eat more fibers and full food. Almost the same number said they are trying to reduce the ingestion of refined sugar in their diets.
Other search highlights included:
- Three quarters of the surveyed described your health in positive terms ("good" for "excellent"), but only a little more Half (54%) said they were satisfied with their overall health.
- 38% Report to be active for health reasons three to five days a week, but 36% reported that they are not active.
- Three of four people said they were trying to eat more fibers and whole grains, and 44% said they were trying to eat more omega -3 fatty acids.
