The post Front-Of-Pack Warning Labels Don’t Lower Obesity Rates appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.

Chile black stop sign food labels depict high levels of calories, sugars, sodium and saturated fats Chilean Ministry of Health As the FDA mulls interpretive food warning labels, a Georgetown University study shows these schemes have been powerless to halt obesity trends. In an attempt to tackle stubbornly high adult obesity rates over 40% in the US, the FDA is advancing a proposed front-of-pack (FOP) label that highlights whether a food or beverage contains low, medium or high levels of sugar, saturated fats and sodium. But a new study from Georgetown University titled Can Front-of-Pack Product Labeling Fix the Obesity Crisis says that the FDA has not learned the lessons from other countries using such interpretive food warning labels: there is no hard evidence that they have been effective in improving consumer diets or in arresting rising obesity rates. Several countries have tried this tactic without achieving these goals. In Chile, ominous black stop signs warn people that the food is nutritionally bad; in the UK, red, amber, and green traffic light symbols show whether levels of certain offender ingredients are high; and some countries in the European Union use colors and letter grades to rate foods for their nutritional value. I’ve said many times that food companies need to do much more to help people eat better and live healthier. But this particular measure — to borrow from Chile — deserves a big black stop sign. Here is why. The study, sponsored by the Consumer Brands Association, examined academic research, studies and data on country obesity rates, and the short-term and long-term effects in dozens of countries where interpretive food warning labels are in place. The sobering conclusion: Yes, people may buy less of the packaged food items with warning labels. But often the effect is temporary or doesn’t…

---

Filed under: News - @ April 30, 2025 3:23 pm