Nearly three-quarters of U.S. adults are overweight or obese.
The journey to health isn’t always easy.
But even if you’re eating the right things, you might still struggle with weight because you’re consuming something you might not even realize.
That’s why it’s critical to pay close attention to food labels, says Dr. Sanjay Gupta.
“First things first, check the number of servings in the package. This is really important. Sometimes you think the calorie count is for the whole package, but, in fact, it just represents one serving. A lot of people get tripped up by this,” said Gupta, host of the Chasing Life podcast.
Gupta said the number of calories and nutrients needed daily are different for everyone and vary based on things like age, size and overall health.
For example, if you have high blood pressure, you’ll need to consume less sodium than others.
“Now look at the daily value of nutrients, the DV, it’s based on an average 2,000-calorie diet, and it can help serve as a guideline for how many nutrients you should be getting,” Gupta said. “A good trick to help you gauge whether the food contains enough of a nutrient is to use the 5/20 rule. If the DV percent is 5% or less, that means it’s relatively low in the nutrient, obviously 20% or more, fairly high.”
Also make sure to look at the ingredient list. Gupta said the first few listed make up the bulk of the food so make sure there’s not too much fat, sugar or salt.
“Finally, watch out for words you can’t pronounce. If you can’t pronounce it, you probably shouldn’t eat it,” Gupta said.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said nutrition facts labels are based on dietary recommendations, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulates what goes on those labels.
They are required on all packaged foods made in the U.S. and ones that are imported from other countries.