Nutritional Pearls: The Importance of Reading Nutrition Labels

Gerrard, an overweight 45-year-old man, has struggled with weight his entire life. He does not enjoy cooking, and reports that he eats a frozen, single-serve meal for lunch and dinner every day.

When asked how he chooses the meals, he says that while he does not read the nutritional information, he always chooses meals that appear to be the healthiest options.

How do you advise your patient?
(Answer and discussion on next page)

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Answer: If you're going to eat convenience meals, don't assume that any particular brand or type of meal is better for you.

Although home-cooked meals are best, many people incorporate “convenience meals” (ie, frozen, single-serving meals) into their everyday diet. While many people only eat convenience meals for lunch at the office, a fair number of my patients tell me that they regularly eat convenience meals at home for dinner, as well. They feel that it's easier and faster than cooking, but healthier than take-out. A recent study conducted in the United Kingdom sought to test this attitude by surveying the nutritional content of what they call "ready-meals."

"Ready-meals" are pre-prepared single- or multiple-serving main courses that are available either refrigerated or frozen. The vast majority of sales of these products are of supermarket brands, and there are typically several product lines ranging from "premium" or "luxury" lines to "value," "economy," or "healthier" lines.
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The Research

The study authors identified 6 popular single-serving meals that were available in the majority of supermarkets.¹ They then visited every branch of 10 major supermarket chains in a Northern England city and recorded the package weight, price, and nutrition information of all of the specified meals in each product line in the store. This was done within the space of a week in order to avoid price variations across supermarket locations.

The researchers then analyzed the 166 meals to see which were most or least healthy, using the UK's guidelines for traffic light labeling on the front of the product. This labeling method shows a red traffic light for high, yellow traffic light for medium, and green traffic light for low for the various levels of fat, saturated fat, sugar, and salt.

The Results

Generally speaking, all of the meals were high in saturated fat and salt, but low in sugar. Two of the 3 meals marketed as "healthier" and none of those marked "luxury" or "premium" had green light scores for all 4 criteria. Interestingly, the meals that had 3 green lights (of a possible 4) cost the least, while those that had 1 green light cost the most.

Keep in mind that the authors were not testing every single meal in every product line, but limited themselves to only 6 varieties: macaroni and cheese, meat lasagna, cottage pie, fish pie, chicken tikka masala, and sweet and sour chicken. While macaroni and cheese tended to score poorly no matter which product line it was from (luxury or healthier), other varieties received different traffic light scores for many of the different product lines, even in the same supermarket brand.

What’s the Take-Home?

If you're going to eat convenience meals of any kind, don't assume that a particular brand, product line, or type of meal is necessarily going to be better for you. It's critical to read the nutrition information for yourself, or use a guide you can trust to help you choose the healthiest option.

Reference:

1. Remant J, Adams J. The nutritional content and cost of supermarket read-meals. Cross-sectional analysis. Appetite 2015;92(9):36-42.