264813 Identifying whole grain foods: A comparison of different approaches for selecting more healthful whole grain products

Wednesday, October 31, 2012 : 8:50 AM - 9:10 AM

Rebecca Mozaffarian, MS, MPH , Harvard School of Public Health Prevention Research Center on Nutrition and Physical Activity, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA
Rebekka M. Lee, ScM , Harvard School of Public Health Prevention Research Center on Nutrition and Physical Activity, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA
Mary Kennedy, MS , Harvard School of Public Health Prevention Research Center on Nutrition and Physical Activity, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA
David Ludwig, MD, PhD , New Balance Foundation Obesity Prevention Center, Department of Medicine, Children's Hospital Boston, Boston, MA
Dariush Mozaffarian, MD, PhD , Department of Nutrition, Department of Epidemiology, Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Harvard School of Public Health, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
Steven Gortmaker, PhD , Prevention Research Center on Nutrition and Physical Activity, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA
Introduction-Whole grains (WG) are recommended for health, but no single definition of WG products exists, limiting consumers, organizations, and policy-makers in selecting healthful products.

Methods-We collected data on 545 US brand-name grain products, categorizing each according to five recommended WG criteria: the industry-sponsored WG-Stamp; having any WG as first ingredient (WG-first); having any WG as first ingredient without added sugars (WG-first-no-added-sugar); having the word "whole" before any grain among ingredients ("whole"-anywhere); and containing a ratio of total carbohydrate to fiber ≤10:1 (10:1-ratio). We assessed how each criterion was associated with health-related characteristics including dietary fiber, sugars, sodium, calories, and trans-fats, and with price.

Results-Each WG criterion identified products with higher fiber than products defined as non-WG by these criteria, with largest differences for the 10:1-ratio (+3.15g/serving,P<0.0001). Products achieving the 10:1-ratio also contained fewer sugars (-1.28g/serving,P<0.01), sodium (-15.4mg/serving,P=0.04), and trans-fats (OR=0.14, P<0.0001), with no calorie differences. WG-first-no-added-sugar performed similarly to the 10:1-ratio, but identified many fewer products (16% vs 41%, respectively), and these also were not less-likely to contain trans-fats. The WG-Stamp, WG-first, and "whole"-anywhere criteria identified products less-likely to contain trans-fat, yet contained higher sugars and higher calories than non-WG products by these criteria (P<0.05 each). Products meeting WG-Stamp or 10:1-ratio criteria were more expensive than products not meeting these criteria (+$0.04/serving,P=0.01; +$0.05/serving,P<0.01; respectively).

Conclusions-Among proposed WG criteria, the 10:1-ratio identified the most healthful whole grain products. Other criteria performed less-well, including the industry-supported WG-Stamp. These findings inform efforts by consumers, organizations, and policy-makers to identify healthful WG products.

Learning Areas:
Public health or related laws, regulations, standards, or guidelines
Public health or related research

Learning Objectives:
Compare how five different recommended whole grain criteria relate to the healthfulness and price of grain products.

Keywords: Policy/Policy Development, Food and Nutrition

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have been the principal investigator of multiple grants focusing on child obesity, nutrition, and physical activity.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 5055.0: Food Industry Regulation: Labeling, Taxation and Litigation