Fats And Figures: Women Who Read Food Labels Weigh Less

Sometimes we wonder does it even make a difference that we stand by the trolley and compare the calories, fats and salt content of food for minutes on end in the supermarket?

Is it a time-waster or does it benefit our health?

Well, this research says it does.

The study shows that women who read the labels on food while shopping weigh far less than those who ignore them.

The new figures reveal that consulting food labels and doing a few quick sums in your head can prevent obesity.

The body mass index of those who read labels is 1.49 points lower than those who don’t consider the on-hand information. That is over half a stone in weight.

Scientists say that educated, city-dwelling women are the most likely to pay attention to the food’s content, seeing a body mass reduction of 1.76 points.

Professor Marma Loureiro of the University of Santiago de Compostela in Spain said; “Obesity is one of the most serious health problems. The number of overweight or obese adults has risen over the years.

“We know that this information can be used to prevent obesity. We have seen that those who read food labels are those who live in urban areas, those with high education.”

Interestingly, the results also showed that smokers pay much less attention to food labels, as their lifestyle “involves less healthy habits and, as a consequence, it could be the case that they are not so worried about the nutritional content of the food they eat.”

In gender terms, 58 per cent of men either habitually or always read the information on food packets, but 74 per cent of women do.

Do you take notice of the food labels as you do your shopping?