Christina Roberto on food labeling and system-level changes for public health
The Center for Health Incentives and Behavioral Economics affiliate studies labeling systems to improve the choices people make with food, and argues that if health care professionals are serious about preventing nutrition-related chronic diseases, then system-level changes are necessary.
2 min. read
Consumers are used to seeing the black-and-white nutritional facts on the back of their food in the supermarket, but the Food and Drug Administration has proposed a new label that would put basic nutritional info on the front of products.
This front-of-package proposed label would show the percentage of the daily recommended amount of sodium, added sugar, and saturated fat included in a serving, and rates whether a serving has a “low,” “medium,” or “high” level of each.
Christina Roberto is a Center for Health Incentives and Behavioral Economics affiliate and the Mitchell J. Blutt and Margo Krody Blutt Presidential Associate Professor of Health Policy in the Perelman School of Medicine.
“Food labeling is a really important way to let consumers know what’s in their food. There are very few actions we take to hold industry accountable to transparency in our food supply, and food labeling is a straightforward way of giving consumers that information they deserve and have a right to know. We got the nutrition facts label in 1993. It’s very familiar to everyone, but it has a lot of information, with lots of numbers, percentages for the daily value, etc. And it’s very detailed with small text. We’ve done enough research at this point to know that many consumers are not flipping over the package and looking at that label,” says Roberto. “A very simple solution is to take some key information from that nutrition facts label and throw it on the front of a food package so that in two seconds you can see whether something is high in salt, sugar, or saturated fat. Those are three things that if you don’t know anything else about healthy eating, you can pay attention to and try to consume less of.”
“When people see food labels,” she says, “if they are designed well, they change their behavior, and they do encourage people to make healthier choices.”
Roberto uses an approach called “strategic science” to work with policymakers and partners to identify and answer the research questions that they most need answered. “Researchers shouldn’t be hesitant to reach out to policymakers and other change agents like advocacy organizations or regulators asking them to meet,” she says. “But the key is to signal that you are interested in hearing their perspective on the types of research that is needed to help them advance policies.”
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