The laws of thermodynamics

This Times piece looks at whether people pay attention to nutrition information on food packaging. For a decade now, any food sold in the United States must include on its packaging nutritional information. We’ve all seen the white and black boxes, detailing the percentage of sugar, fat, carbohydrates, fiber and various vitamins per serving based on an "average" healthy diet.

Surprisingly, the survey found that most people do study the printed information, but this added bit of knowledge doesn’t seem to be helping the general public eat better, or, shed pounds. The study raises an interesting quandary – despite the availability of dietary information, we are, as American consumers, still not making informed choices about what we eat.

People with health concerns (diabetics, for example) were the largest group in the study who actually claimed to make purchasing decisions based on a product’s nutritional information. And rightly so – maintaining sugar levels for diabetics is a daily battle. Sugar, either in derivatives or simple carbohydrates, is prevalent in so many processed foods that diabetics need to be particularly savvy about what they eat. But this savvy often comes from having a doctor to consult with, someone who can make sense of what all those percentages actually mean and how they will affect the body.

This issue has charged the collective light bulbs at the FDA. After a chain of obesity studies (our national "disease") the FDA has decided it needs to sponsor a "consumer education campaign" so people can learn how to make heads or tails of nutritional information. Their message, apparently, will be simple: If you eat more than you burn, you will get fat. A balanced diet and exercise will keep me fit? You don’t say…