"Healthy" Foods are not as they are labeled

People tend to choose larger portions of food if they are labeled as being “healthier”, even if they have the same number of calories, according to a new study.

That misconception can lead to people eating larger portions of so-called healthy foods, and therefore more calories.

whether health and nutrition claims had any influence on people choosing portion sizes of these foods? A study led by Barbara Livingstone, a professor at the University of Ulster, uncovered the question.

The researchers asked 186 adults to assess the appropriate portion sizes of foods. Given a bowl of coleslaw, the participants served themselves more of the coleslaw labeled “healthier” than the coleslaw labeled “standard.” For instance, obese men served themselves 103 grams of healthy coleslaw and 86 grams of standard coleslaw.

In reality, the healthy-labeled coleslaw had just as many calories—941 kilojoules (or 224 calories) for every 100 grams—as the “standard” coleslaw, which had 937 kilojoules (or 223 calories).

Additionally, people tended to underestimate how many calories were in a serving for the “healthier” coleslaw. The participants most often thought the “healthier” coleslaw contained 477 kilojoules, or 113 calories. In contrast, they were not far off in estimating the calories in the “standard” coleslaw.