Where did all those pounds come from?
They read nutrition labels, fret about their expanding waistlines, pay attention to portions -- but are perplexed by fat and calories. They know they should move more -- but are mostly inactive. They recognize the new food pyramid -- but choose what to eat based on taste and price rather than health.
Sound familiar? It should. That’s a snapshot of Americans that emerged from a new national survey of consumer behavior and attitudes.
The majority of the 10,000 people polled correctly understand that their weight, diet and physical activity influence their health, according to the survey, which was sponsored by the International Food Information Council Foundation, a Washington-based nonprofit group funded by food, beverage and agricultural companies.
But knowledge is one thing. Putting it into practice is another. There’s good news: The survey found that more than half of those polled said they had improved their diets in the last six months by eating fewer calories and by changing the foods they ate. Nearly two in three who made improvements said they were prompted to do so after talking with a health professional, family and friends, or by simply reading food labels.
Here are the survey highlights along with easy ways to make course corrections:
* Calorie quandary. Nearly 90% of the respondents had no idea how many calories they should consume daily to maintain their weight. About half couldn’t even guess. Only a third correctly understood how extra calories, no matter in what food they are consumed, contribute to weight gain.
Simple fix: To find your caloric balance, take your weight and multiply by 10. If you weigh 150 pounds, that means 1,500 calories. But that’s just for breathing. Add 20% to 40% more calories if you live a sedentary life; 40% to 60% more if you are active. Or do what the federal government does: It uses 2,000 calories daily for most adults.
* Slim on fat facts. Saturated fat and trans fat were correctly identified as unhealthful by most of those surveyed. About half said they try to eat fewer saturated fats; nearly as many are attempting to cut the trans fats found in many fried and baked foods. But the message to avoid unhealthful fat is still missed by nearly 40% of those polled.
Simple fix: At home, reduce use of processed foods, which are more likely to have added fat that contains saturated or trans fat. At restaurants and fast food establishments, skip or have only small portions of the French fries, chicken nuggets and fried fish fillets, which are often loaded with trans fats.
* Sugar-coated concerns. About half of participants polled say they are carbohydrate conscious, paying close attention to how many and what types of carbs they eat. The majority know that glucose, sucrose, high-fructose corn syrup, lactose and fructose are types of sugar. But fewer respondents were aware of “added sugars” in processed foods, and only one in six reported eating the recommended two cups of fruit and two and a half cups of vegetables daily.
Simple fix: Get carbs first from fruit and vegetables, which contain complex carbohydrates that are less likely to send blood sugar soaring. Reduce foods with added sugar such as sweetened cereal, cookies, candy, ice cream and soft drinks.
* Underestimating girth. Two-thirds of respondents say that they are overweight, extremely overweight or obese -- a percentage that tracks with the latest government figures. Even so, when height and weight supplied by participants was used to calculate body mass index, nearly a third of participants who described themselves as being at an ideal weight were actually overweight, while 75% who said they were overweight qualified as being obese.
Simple fix: Do a little spring preening by checking your weight. Use a free electronic calculator to determine body mass index at www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi; this will also tell you whether you are at a healthy weight, overweight or obese.
