Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2012 May 28:12:55.
doi: 10.1186/1471-2431-12-55.

Adolescent nutritional awareness and use of food labels: results from the National Nutrition Health and Examination Survey

Janet M Wojcicki  1 , Melvin B Heyman
Affiliations

Adolescent nutritional awareness and use of food labels: results from the National Nutrition Health and Examination Survey

Janet M Wojcicki et al. BMC Pediatr. .

Abstract

Background: Awareness of federal nutrition programs and use of the nutrition facts label are associated with reduced risk for obesity and increased intake of fruits and vegetables. Relationships between nutrition programs, use of food labels and risk for overweight and obesity have rarely been evaluated in adolescents.

Methods: Using the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2005-6, we evaluated the frequency of nutrition awareness of USDA and CDC nutrition programs and use of food labels in adolescents. Risk for overweight (BMI ≥ 85-94th percentile) and obesity (BMI ≥ 95th percentile) was assessed in relation to nutrition awareness and label reading.

Results: Most adolescents (92.4%) were aware of the Food Guide Pyramid. Fewer (43.5%) were aware of the 5-A-Day Program, and even less (29.3%) were aware of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Less than 25% of adolescents decided which foods to purchase by reading material on the nutrition facts label. There were significant racial and ethnic differences in awareness of federal nutrition programs with Mexican-Americans having the lowest levels of awareness of the US Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the Food Guide Pyramid in comparison with other groups. Non-Hispanic whites had higher and African-American adolescents had lower frequencies of reading fat information on the nutrition label in comparison to Mexican-American and other Hispanics. Awareness of other nutrition programs or of other information on the nutrition facts label was not associated with increased or decreased risk for overweight or obesity.

Conclusions: Use of the nutrition facts panel information is low among US adolescents. Additionally, less than half of adolescents are aware of federal nutrition programs including the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Future studies should evaluate avenues to make nutrition information more accessible to young Americans.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Chu YH, Frongillo EA, Jones SF, Kaye GL. Improving patrons’ meal selections through the use of point-of-selection nutrition labels. Am J Public Health. 2009;99(11):2001–2005. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2008.153205. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Temple JL, Jonson K, Recupero K, Suders H. Nutrition labels desease energy intake in adults consuming lunch in the laboratory. J Am Diet Assoc. 2010;110(7):1094–1097. doi: 10.1016/j.jada.2010.04.006. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Engell D, Bordi P, Borja M, Lambert C, Rolls B. Effects of information about fat content on food preferences in pre-adolescent children. Appetite. 1998;30(3):269–282. doi: 10.1006/appe.1997.0106. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Miller DL, Castellanos VH, Shide DJ, Peters JC, Rolls BJ. Effect of fat-free potato chips with and without nutrition labels on fat and energy intakes. Am J Clin Nutr. 1998;68(2):282–290. - PubMed
    1. USDA. Dietary Guidelines for Americans. http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/dietaryguidelines.htm.

Publication types