The Effects of Food Labeling and Dietary Guidance on Nutrition in the United States

Joanna Parks

No 150583, 2013 Annual Meeting, August 4-6, 2013, Washington, D.C. from Agricultural and Applied Economics Association

Abstract: Food label regulations, dietary guidance, and nutrition education have continually evolved to address emerging health and nutrition concerns in the United States. Using the most recently available data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2007-2008, this study examines the individual characteristics associated with food label use and estimates the effect of using food labels on nutrient intake. Using an instrumental variables methodology I find that using the Nutrition Facts panel (NFP) decreases total calories consumed per day by 120 kilocalories, just shy of the calories in one can of regular soda, and enough to explain at least an 11 pound difference in steady state body weight. In general I find that, using food labels may reduce CVD risk and facilitate the management of body weight and diet-related health conditions such as hypertension. The results provide evidence that food labels and dietary guidance have helped consumers make healthier choices and that they have the potential to help those who do not yet use these tools.

Keywords: Agricultural and Food Policy; Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 43
Date: 2013
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/150583/files/A ... DRAFT-IV-5-23-13.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ags:aaea13:150583

DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.150583

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in 2013 Annual Meeting, August 4-6, 2013, Washington, D.C. from Agricultural and Applied Economics Association Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by AgEcon Search ().