How Can Nutrition Fact Labels Be Harmful?
Nutrition fact labels are tables containing information on packaged foods. They inform consumers about the ingredients, additives, and nutritional properties of a specific food to aid in decision-making. Although these labels are important for people who suffer from allergies and intolerances, they can be harmful to those who suffer from disordered eating or an eating disorder.
By: Maya Azar Atallah
Nutrition fact labels may encourage morality-based labeling of foods. Dependent upon the nutritional profile of a food, consumers may evaluate the food as “good” or bad.” For example, foods high in calories, sugar, carbs, and/or fat may be perceived as “unhealthy” or “junk.” As a result, people may unnecessarily avoid these products, perpetuating restrictive behaviors and harming their relationship with food. Additionally, frequent use of the nutrition fact labels has been shown to be associated with higher engagement in unhealthy and extreme weight control measures such as fasting, skipping meals, and taking diet pills and laxatives (Christoph et al. 2018). These measures are predictive of eating disorder development. Based on this research, it is evident that obsessive use of nutrition fact labels may contribute to development of disordered eating and, potentially, the onset of eating disorders.
The addition of serving size and portion size to nutrition facts labels may intensify an obsession with calorie counting and measuring meals. Because keeping track of calories and macronutrient consumption is a common practice among dieters, the nutrition label may encourage the habit of weighing portions and tracking food intake. This obsession with numbers is critical to eating disorder development because it disregards a person’s actual energy needs and hunger state. People may stop eating based on the recommended serving size even if they still feel hungry or are unsatisfied. They may also engage in physical activity based on how many calories they have consumed with the goal of “burning off” what has been eaten so far. Additionally, individuals may feel that they need to engage in exercise in order to “earn" a food that is labeled as “bad”.
The use of nutrition fact labels goes against the promotion of intuitive eating, which is critical to people recovering from an eating disorder. A major aspect of recovery is being able to get back in tune with one’s internal signals. However, nutrition fact labels often get in the way of reconnecting with the body because people tend to focus on what or how much to eat according to what is written on the label, rather than what they actually want or need. Nutrition fact labels might also lead people with eating disorders to choose foods with the least calories as a way to restrict caloric consumption. Either way, nutrition fact labels serve the eating disorder thoughts and the anxiety that comes with them; they can be triggering and can exacerbate the symptoms of an eating disorder.
Nutrition fact labels can also detract from the satisfaction individuals derive from food, make eating feel like a chore rather than a pleasurable experience. Choosing to eat foods for their calorie content rather than their satisfaction factor often harms one’s relationship with food. Food is more than just a number: it provides enjoyment, social connection, and connection to one’s culture. For this reason, it can be very helpful for people in recovery to hide the nutrition facts label when choosing what to eat.
At BALANCE eating disorder treatment center™, our compassionate highly skilled team of clinicians is trained in diagnosing and treating the spectrum of eating disorders, including anorexia, bulimia, binge eating disorder, compulsive overeating, and other disordered eating behaviors and body image issues. We offer a variety of programs and services targeted at helping clients overcome fear foods and develop a healthy relationship with food. We offer nutrition counseling with a licensed dietitian, meal support, a Food & Mood Group, and a variety of other groups and resources to help those seeking help for food concerns.
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This post was written by BALANCE Blog Contributor, Maya Azar Atallah.
Maya is a Registered/Licensed Dietitian who is passionate about disordered eating and eating disorders. She is an advocate of the intuitive eating model and believes in the HAES movement. She recently completed a Masters degree in nutrition and behavior from Bournemouth University UK, and as part of her MSc, she conducted research among Lebanese young adults, evaluating the relationship between frequent usage of nutrition fact labels on packaged items, weight control measures, and its probable predictive factor of eating disorders incidence. She aimed to assess if high reliance on nutrition fact labels could be used as a tool triggering weight control measures and the onset of eating disorder symptoms. Maya likes preventing and assisting in the treatment of disordered eating and eating disorders, and loves to get involved in the field to help society become less weight centric, promote body inclusivity/positivity and shift away from the weight stigma society we live in, which can compromise health so much. She wants to help people in their eating disorder recovery by getting them the right or needed renourishment and guiding them through all the steps of the intuitive eating approach. She also hopes to pursue a PhD in public health to design policies for the primary prevention of eating disorders.
References
Christoph, M. J., Loth, K. A., Eisenberg, M. E., Haynos, A. F., Larson, N. and Neumark-Sztainer, D., 2018. Nutrition Facts Use in Relation to Eating Behaviors and Healthy and Unhealthy Weight Control Behaviors. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 50 (3), 267-274.e1.
Haynos, A. F. and Roberto, C. A., 2017. The effects of restaurant menu calorie labeling on hypothetical meal choices of females with disordered eating: HAYNOS and ROBERTO. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 50 (3), 275–283.