FAT FREE Labels

In today’s society it matters to most of us to be weight conscious as well as placing healthy foods in our bodies. Although with processed foods I am skeptical of what truly is healthy and what is label hype. Of course most of us are aware that you cannot believe everything you read and now it is evident of this from this weeks reading.

The reason that a 97% fat free food is too good to be true is that the food industry bases its figures on the weight of the product and not the calories the product contains (Bluman, 2005, pg. 236). This is the misconception that consumers fall into the trap of reading labels without the information of what the label really means. I chose three items to calculate if they are truly low in fat or if it is label hype. I started with breakfast and I usually eat oatmeal, then lunch I chose tuna and for dinner and overall interest I chose a Kirkland weight loss shake.

Beginning with breakfast, the labels do not insinuate that it is low in fat but oatmeal has been the long time healthy meal; or so assumed. One serving of oatmeal is ½ cup dry cereal with 150 calories and 3 grams of fat per serving which is 4% of your daily allowance. The calculations to find the true amount of fat in this product is to multiply each gram of fat by 9 to get the calories; each gram of fat is converted to 9 calories(3 x 9 = 27). Then divide the fat calories by the total calories and multiply by 100% to get the percentage of calories from fat(27 / 150 x 100% = 18%) (Bluman, 2005, pg.236). So through calculations it does prove that the true fat content in oatmeal is 18% compared to the 4% the label shows.

Exploring now onto lunch with tuna which on the label states if used ¼ cup per serving it is 50 calories per serving; of that serving 1 gram of fat is contained which is 2% of the daily allowance. Again our equation that is used is 9 calories per gram of fat which is computed at 1 x 9 =9. Then take the 9 fat calories and divide by the total calories and multiply by 100% to get an accurate calculation of fat calories of the tuna. 9/50 x 100% = 18% is the actual fat calories compared to the 2 % on the label. There is another falsified label that consumers tend to latch themselves to when buying products.

The last experiment and the most important to me is the Kirkland weight loss drinks which I swear by and now wonder how fictitious the label is. This label does say 99% fat free so let’s see how true this is. The calories of this drink are 230 with 2 grams of fat equally 3% of the daily allowance. The calculations is 2 x 9 = 18 fat calories; then 18/230 x 100% = 7.8%. This is the final proof that labels are like the media, you can’t believe what you read, when the label shows 99% fat free in actuality it is only 92.2% fat free which is still ok in my book.

To be weight conscious is one thing but to be label conscious requires a calculator. This exercise has enlightened me because I am always looking at labels but now I realize that I need calculations to be correct and to ignore what may be printed on the front of the label.

The label hype has been proven to be true and as a society we need to be health conscious which includes what our true calorie intake is. Just do not forget our calculations needed to find the true calorie percentage and do not believe everything you read.

Reference:

Bluman, Allan G. 2005. Mathematics in Our World. New York: The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.