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The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Food and Drug Administration's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN) have unveiled two new learning tools to help consumers use the Nutrition Facts label to choose nutritious foods and to achieve healthy weight management.
The tools are Make Your Calories Count, a Web-based learning program, and a new Nutrition Facts Label brochure.
"The risk of many diseases and health conditions may be reduced through preventive actions and a culture of wellness deters or diminishes debilitating and costly health events. Individual health care is built on a foundation of responsibility for personal wellness," said HHS Assistant Secretary for Health John Agwunobi, M.D., in announcing the nutrition aids. "We at HHS are pleased to introduce both the new Web-based program and the brochure, which contribute to the nutrition focus of the department's prevention priority."
The Web program is part of the FDA's response to the recommendations contained in a 2004 report issued by the agency's Obesity Working Group. The program is based on recommendations in the federal government's 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. The Dietary Guidelines contain science-based advice designed to help Americans choose diets that meet nutrient requirements without exceeding calorie needs, promote health, support active lives, and reduce the risk of chronic disease.
"This learning program provides a quick and simple way to educate consumers on how to use the Nutrition Facts label," says FDA Commissioner Andrew C. von Eschenbach, M.D. "By making it easier for consumers to understand the Nutrition Facts label, the FDA is helping them make quick and informed food choices that contribute to lifelong healthy eating habits."
Make Your Calories Count is an interactive online learning program that is also available in a downloadable format. It is designed to help consumers understand and use the Nutrition Facts label to plan a healthy diet while managing calorie intake.
The program guide features an animated character, called Labelman, who expertly leads the viewer through a series of exercises on the food label. The program includes exercises to help consumers explore the relationship between serving sizes and calories while they learn how to limit certain nutrients and get enough of others. For simplicity, the program presents two nutrients that should be limited -- saturated fat and sodium -- and fiber and calcium, two nutrients that should be consumed in adequate amounts.
Consumers can use the Nutrition Facts label to take control of their caloric intake and weight and to make healthy food choices, if they know how. This program will show consumers how, in part, by explaining what serving sizes, percentages, and daily values mean and how to use them. The program is available for online use and in a downloadable format at www.cfsan.fda.gov/labelman. A new downloadable Nutrition Facts Label brochure for use by consumers is also available. The brochure can be used by health professionals to teach people how to make healthier food choices. The brochure includes information that will help consumers understand the relationship between calories and serving size, which may help them use the label to manage their intake of calories. Visit www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/lab-gen.html to download.