Knowledge of dietary guidelines and use of nutrition fact labels among young adults in the US

There continues to be an increase in overweight and obese adults and children in the United States. Regulation of body weight is complex and subject to a number of individual, behavioral, and environmental influences. One such factor is knowledge and use of dietary guidelines and nutrition fact labels. Since 1994, the nutrition fact label is required on pre-packaged foods in the US. Thus, young adults have been exposed to the nutrition facts label for most of their lives. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the knowledge and use of the dietary guidelines and nutrition facts labels of 16-29 year olds. Data for this study are from the NHANES 2005-2006 survey. We analyzed data from 2,018 participants. Results show 70% have not heard of the dietary guidelines and 10% have not heard of the food guide pyramid; 20% use the label most of the time, while 45% never do, 12% use the ingredients list most of the time, while 51% never do, and 14% use serving size information, while 54% never do. Results show that while the nutrition fact label is required, a majority of people does not use the label. Increasing utilization and knowledge of dietary guidelines and nutrition fact labels will likely influence dietary changes including proper serving sizes, increased awareness of the ingredients consumed and improved nutrient density of food choices. However, we cannot make a determination of label effectiveness because the majority of people do not use the label.