"Traffic Light" Product Labels Reduce Calories Purchased at Hospital Cafeteria – ScienceDaily

In the program, the green labels indicated the healthiest foods, the yellow labels indicating the least healthy and the least healthy, according to both positive and negative criteria, especially if the main ingredients were fruits, whole grains, etc. saturated fat.

The researchers used employee identification numbers to track the purchases of 5,695 employees purchasing food in the HGM's cafeterias. After establishing a three-month reference period, the researchers followed up on the purchases made after the labels were added, and again after the product placement changes, which made the healthier choices more accessible. Interventions remained in place at the MGH cafeterias and the study badyzed the data more than two years after the first introduction of the descriptive labels.

The researchers found that the proportion of food purchased with a green label had increased, while the share of the least healthy foods purchased had decreased.

The current study, a retrospective badysis using caloric data at the level of newly available articles, badociated the labeling with a reduction in calories over the two-year study period and found that the largest decreases in calories were observed in purchases of foods labeled in red. "This indicates that not only did employees consume fewer calories at work," said lead author Anne N. Thorndike, MD, MPH, "but also that they improved the quality of the calories they were buying ".

For employees who frequent cafeterias most often, the estimated reduction in calories is up to a weight loss of up to 2 kg (4.4 pounds) over time. However, Thorndike pointed out, "This is not a weight loss program." The data shows that people earn an average of one to two pounds a year. "If a program like this could help ensure that every adult has a stable weight, rather than continuing to gain weight," she said, "we could begin to reverse the epidemic of disease." ;obesity".

Previous research evaluating the impact of food labeling interventions on purchased calories had been done in the laboratory or cross-section, evaluating a single food or a choice of meals. "The difference with our study is that it looked at the actual purchases of employees over several months," Thorndike said.

One-third of the nearly 150 million working Americans are obese and the prevalence of obesity is increasing in all sectors, including that of health. Obesity and diet-related diseases, such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease, would contribute to increased absenteeism and reduced productivity, as well as health care costs. about 200 billion dollars nationwide. Employees often buy meals at work and a recent nationally representative household survey found that workplace foods were high in calories from saturated fats and sugars, often consisting of pizzas, soft drinks, biscuits and brownies. Effective strategies to reduce non-nutrient energy intake during the workday could help address the growing prevalence of obesity in the United States and around the world.

"More workplaces should do these kinds of interventions," Thorndike said. "Wellness programs usually end after a certain period of time, but programs like this one, to which people are exposed every day when they go to work, are part of the culture of the community." business. This is how you bring people to make changes in the long run.

Thorndike believes that the labels have helped employees make the right health choices. "A red tag reminds that something is not healthy at the time of purchase," she said. "The labels are for people who are trying to make healthy choices but do not have the time to look at the nutrition facts panel – they want something quick and easy to make the choice and get back on their feet. at work."

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Material provided by Mbadachusetts General Hospital. Note: Content can be changed for style and length.