Foods marketed as healthier are seen by consumers as a licence to overeat and may actually lead in time to weight gain, interim results of new Safefood funded research reveals.
The research, being led by a team from the University of Ulster, indicates that products with health and nutrition claims, such as ‘low fat’ and ‘reduced fat’, may be contributing to people eating larger than recommended portions. It also indicates that many people assume these foods with certain health claims are lower in calories than they are.
The aim of the research, conducted among some 180 adults throughout Ireland who had a range of body weights, was to compare what people thought to be the calorie content and reasonable portion sizes of ‘healthier’ and ‘standard’ foods.
Introducing the research, Dr Cliodhna Foley-Nolan, director, human health and nutrition, Safefood, said: The research shows that these foods are viewed by some consumers as a licence to overeat. However, in the case of many products, the fat that is removed in the ‘healthier’ product is replaced by other ingredients, such as sugar, and the calorie savings are small. Consumers need to relook at their portion sizes, as any benefit they might get from these ‘healthier’ processed foods could be undone by just how much of them they are eating.”
The research report Perceptions of ‘Healthiness’ of Foods is available to download from the International Journal of Obesity.
