Ahlan Wa Sahlan Wa Marhaban Bikum...

The significant of reading food labels

2008-09-15T06:15:00.001+08:00

What impact do nutrition labels have on food choice?

UNDERSTANDING the factors which affect food choice are important as governments grapple with rising levels of overweight and obesity and search for effective ways to get consumers to change their behaviour and choose healthier diets.

One part of the healthier eating equation is the provision of nutrition information on foods and beverages that allow consumers to make informed choices.

But just how do consumers use this information and what is their level of understanding? A review of studies on nutrition labelling by Grunert and Wills (2007) found that while most consumers say that they use food labels, actual usage in a shopping setting may be far lower than self-reported figures.

Most of the studies on food labelling to date have been undertaken in the US and the UK. These markets are very different to the Asian environment so the results may or may not be relevant to this part of the world.

The Asian way

To gain a better understanding of how consumers in Asia choose foods and the ways in which they use nutrition information on food labels, the Asian Food Information Council (AFIC) undertook research in China and Thailand in October/November 2007. The respondents (about 400 in each market) were aged 13 to 49 years of age and were the main grocery decision makers in their family or social unit. Non-grocery shoppers were also surveyed to see if there were any differences in their attitudes.

The main finding was that people choose foods and beverages based on a number of factors. In Shanghai, grocery shoppers ranked high nutrient content, freshness and taste the top three factors in their decision making. The findings in Thailand were similar with freshness, value for money (meaning the food was affordable and filling/satiating), high nutrient content and taste being the most important factors in food choice.

Non-grocery shoppers ranked freshness as the most important attribute in food choice in both Shanghai and Bangkok.

These findings are not really surprising. Most other studies, including those in the US and European countries, have shown that taste and value for money are more important than nutrition in everyday food choice.

In Asian countries other factors also come into play when looking at the relative effectiveness of food labels in affecting food choice. For example, many meals are eaten outside of the home and these foods do not generally carry any nutrition information, yet they constitute a significant proportion of daily calorie intake.

More than half the respondents in the AFIC study in Bangkok said they ate out at least once a day, mostly at hawker centres. In Shanghai, the incidence of eating out was about once a week.

It is also common practice for people in Asian countries to shop at wet markets for foods and beverages. In Bangkok for example, 97% of grocery expenditure is at wet markets where foods are not pre-packaged and shoppers have little if any information on their nutritional value.

Do shoppers use nutrition information on labels?

Despite the fact that many of the more commonly eaten foods in Bangkok and Shanghai are unlabelled, most shoppers seem to be aware of nutrition labels on packaged foods and drinks.

Grocery shoppers in Bangkok were much more likely to claim to use nutrition information on food labels than those in Shanghai, with three in four shoppers in Bangkok saying they use the information and about half of the shoppers using it in Shanghai.

The information most commonly searched for on labels was the content of food additives and the fat levels as well as information on protein, sugars, vitamin and minerals and calories.

The fact that shoppers claim to use food labels is encouraging. However it may not present actual usage of nutrition information. A review of research on food labels (Cowburn and Stockley 2005) found that while reported consumer usage of food labels is high, their actual use appears to be much lower.

Familiarity with the product, time pressures and assumed knowledge can all affect whether or not a food label is used. To attempt to identify actual understanding and use of labels in a real life setting, AFIC's research tested various nutrition labels on actual meal choices.

What type of label is best understood?

There are many ways to provide more information on food labels. Most commonly, information is provided in the nutrition information panel which is found on the side of the food package. This panel provides information on calories/kilojoules, protein, fat, carbohydrate and sometimes provides additional information on other nutrients such as vitamins and minerals.

More recently other types of labels have been investigated, especially labels which can be placed on the front of the food package and which aim to summarise the important information on the nutrition side panel.

AFIC tested three types of nutrition labels – multiple traffic lights (MTL), Guideline Daily Amount (GDA) and energy content (EC) per serving. The MTL label uses "traffic lights" – red, amber and green circles – to depict the relative amounts of calories, fat, sugar and sodium. This is the type of label currently being promoted by the Food Standards Agency, UK, as a good model as it is thought to be simple to understand.

However the AFIC research showed that most consumers in the Bangkok and Shanghai study did not understand the colour coding at all. While respondents in Bangkok could identify the amount of nutrient in the food, they could not tell whether this level was high, moderate or low. In Shanghai, understanding of any of the information on the MTL panel was poor.

The GDA label listed the amount of calories, fat, sugar and sodium in a serving of the food as well as the percentage contribution to recommended daily intakes. Many manufacturers in Europe are using this type of label on foods and beverages in an effort to provide consumers with easy to understand information.

The AFIC study showed that the GDA label appeared to be better understood in Bangkok, with some respondents correctly interpreting meals as high or low in certain nutrients. However the level of understanding was low in the Shanghai group.

Finally, most respondents in Bangkok could correctly state the calories in a meal when shown the energy-based or energy content (EC) label. However they did not appear to understand the 2000kcal daily requirement listed on the label. Once again, understanding in Shanghai was poor.

Basic nutrition knowledge is poor

The AFIC study also looked at basic knowledge on energy levels of various foods and daily energy requirements. A significant number of public health programmes in Asia now involve information on weight management because of the soaring levels of overweight.

Yet the AFIC study showed that most respondents did not know their average daily energy needs. Knowledge on the calorie levels of various foods and beverages was also poor in both markets. Non-readers of food labels, those with lower education levels and teenagers were more likely to answer incorrectly or say they didn't know.

In both cities there was confusion over the terms "energy" and "calories". In Bangkok, "energy" was perceived as positive in the MTL and GDA labels but as negative in the energy-based labels. In Shanghai, there was a misunderstanding that the calories on the label came entirely from fat or that "energy" meant "heat energy".

Sodium was not understood by about one in three respondents in both cities.

Key learnings

When providing more information on nutrition and food choices for consumers, the study provided some interesting learnings, including the following:

·The main source of calories in both Bangkok and Shanghai come from non-packaged foods. Efforts to address overweight and obesity by providing more nutrition information needs to focus on the major contributors to calorie intake. The provision of information on and about foods from wet markets, street foods and hawker foods would appear to offer the best opportunity to help consumers make more informed food choices.

·Many public health programmes are targeting weight management. It is well accepted that energy balance (and weight control) rests on the equation: Energy in = Energy out = Weight maintenance

Most consumers in this study did not know how many calories they needed in a day. Nor did they know the average calories in many foods and drinks. This information is needed for the people to be able to put weight maintenance recommendations and advice into practice. Information on energy needs and calorie levels of commonly consumed foods would help consumers in Bangkok and Shanghai choose foods which meet their calorie requirements.

·The main reason that people chose one particular meal over another was for taste. Nutrition was a secondary factor involved in food choice. The importance of nutrition in food choice varies by country and by consumer group. For example, people in Shanghai were much less likely to agree that they would change their eating habits if they had more nutrition information on foods than were those in Bangkok.

There are also various groups within populations that are more interested in receiving nutrition information than other groups – such as those with health problems, women, older people and the better educated. The effective targeting of public health programmes would need to take these factors into account when deciding on target groups, communication methods and key messages.

·The introduction of any form of food label in either Bangkok or Shanghai will require extensive education efforts to ensure consumer understanding. Further research is required on the most appropriate nutrition labels for use in Asia.

References:

1. Grunert and Wills 2007 A Review of European research on consumer response to nutrition information on food labels.

2. Cowburn and Stockley (2005) Consumer understanding and use of nutrition labelling: a systematic review. Pub Health Nutr 8:21-25

n This article is courtesy of the Asian Food Information Council's Food Facts Asia Issue 33.

Welcome to my Blog...

2005-10-20T16:36:00.000+08:00

Do you ever feel like breaking down?
Do you ever feel out of place?
Like somehow you just don't belong
And no one understands you

Do you ever want to run away?
Do you lock yourself in your room?
With the radio on turned up so loud
That no one hears you screaming...

To be hurt, to feel lost
To be left out in the dark
To be kicked when you're down
To feel like you've been pushed around
To be on the edge of breaking down
And no one's there to save you
No you don't know what it's like
Welcome to my life...

So friends, you are all most welcome to my humble-orange blog...
Feel free to access on my blog and share my knowledge and experiences.
Who knows, maybe it can soothe you from sadness and gloomy…
Therefore, feel free to put your comments on my blog, ok guys…
Enjoy da show and the fun will begins…

2005-10-20T16:14:00.000+08:00

Once upon a time, I was a student of English Literature in my school (Convent School). I was picked up by my teacher to join the first batch of English Literature that time…He really want me to do English literature beside Malay literature that I was studying on that time…because I seem to refused his proposal, he made an effort to negotiate with my father in order to influenced me to do so… (memang beriya betul Sir tu…) Because it was my father requests, I made my decision to join the group because I trust my father the most… Believe it or not, there were only 5 Malay students in that class and the other half were Chinese and Indian. (We are the experiment batch actually)

That is how the word literature comes into my life… Then, it follows with my father’s (again) choice who wants me to join IIUM and taking English and Literature course… (again, pity me) Actually, it was my father who fills up the UPU form and made all the choices for me. Not, even my mother though. (she just agree with him) That’s why my siblings and some of my relatives said that I’m a father’s daughter, am I? God knows better…

However, after four years been ‘into linguistics and literatures’, it made me realize that actually this course goes well with me, Alhamdulillah… Therefore, I’ve to thank my teacher and my beloved father for ‘forcing’ me to this course.

Okay, as I endure this course, I think I prefer more on literature because in literature I can explores the world of beauties in words and the language… I love literature also because by learning it we have borderless of knowledge to dig up. For instance, you can learn about history, geography, science, society, politics, customs, and belief among others.

When I study English Literature, I’ve learned about Christianity, the people lifestyle in certain period such as Elizabethan era, Romanticism era, Victorian era and what not…Even though I kind of hate it for the first place, but as I explores the field, I feel the sweetness insides (chewah!)

I also love to interpret poetry…the most inspiring to my life is the poem by Robert Frost “The Road Not Taken” (I’m sure you also like it right Madam) I’ve learned this poem in my secondary school and I’m the one who recites it to class, hehe… (proud) Currently, I also adore the poems by Malaysian writer, Muhammad Haji. Salleh. It attracts me when I first read a poem by him which is about his daughter. He dedicates the poem to his new born daughter. I was touched by the words he chose and how he plays with the words in describing the WORLD to his daughter. It catches my attention (and makes me cry at last, sob…sob…) because the way he portrays the father-daughter relations similarly with me and my beloved father…

Last but not least, I also enjoy studying linguistics such as Phonetics and Phonologies, Sociolinguistics, psycholinguistics etc…Emm, not to forget, Linguistic Approach to Literature by Dr. Normala. For me, as I learned the course, it catches my interests because in that course we learn on how to interpret literature linguistically… As Aida said before “Once you get the hang of what Dr. Normala is saying, the class would definitely be a breeze for you all”. Finally, I thank GOD for sending me here to fulfilling my life with knowledge and plus the Islamic surroundings I must say, where can you find such a wonderful university like IIUM… Bliss, Bliss, Bliss…

Me and my Blog...

2005-10-20T16:10:00.000+08:00

Okay, to begin with…
Firstly, I want to thank Dr. Rozina (our beloved Madam) for assigning us to do this blog. If not, I’m sure that I would not be bother to blogging or anything to do with blog things… Even thought I love to write diary, I never let myself to write on blog what thing that I wrote on my diary… For me, it seems like people will laugh or criticize me when they read it. I never have confident to do so, even until now… to speak the truth, I’m a secretive person who likes to keep secret inside and not letting anyone to know about it, unless the person I’ve trusts the most. For your information, this is one of the reflections of SCORPIO…

Next, I also want to thanks Liza for introducing me to Myspace blog. I like this blog despite the others because I can build my own template, which is obviously orange…hehehe…
Ops, not to forget Azrul or Bobab who also assist me with this and that about blogging matters…Thank you Bobab…

My Study Plan...

2005-10-20T16:03:00.000+08:00

Title: Book Review

Teacher: Miss Yasmin Md. Yusof

Grade Level: Intermediate to Advance

Time: Approximately about 45 minutes to 60 minutes

Overview: Most English teachers have a variety of ways to help students write about novels they read. I use this pre-writing activity, along with others, to help students fulfill the writing component in a contract reading unit. Usually the students are on the intermediate and advance grade level and have fallen into the dismal habit of writing a book review which is an often times confusing re-telling of the entire story. This is an effort to help them identify and describe the bare bones of novel.

Objectives:

Students will be able to:
1.Write one sentence, using carefully chosen words, which describes the character, plot, setting, and mood of a novel.
2.Use, if they choose that one sentence as a spring board for additional writing about the novel.
3.Identify (during discussion) plot, setting, mood, character.

Activities and Procedures:
(The Students Have All Completed a Free Choice Novel)

1.I ask the students to think carefully about their novels and choose a word which describes the main character's age and sex (male or female) then choose one word which best describes the main character as a person.
2.The students choose two words which best describe another important character.
3.The students choose two words which describe the setting of the novel.
4.The students choose three words which best describe the mood of the story.
5.The students choose ten words which describe the sequence of events in the novel. (I encourage them to leave out articles and conjunctions.)
6.The students take the nineteen words they have chosen and ten additional free words and write one long sentence or two shorter sentences which are, in essence, all the "important stuff" about their novels.
7.The students read their sentences aloud.
8.They have at their disposal a sentence which may be awkward and crying for revision, but handles the main idea of their novels and is a good starting point for further writing about reading.

Evaluation: I find that an element of mystery helps this pre-writing activity get off the ground. I don't announce what will happen with the words the students are choosing, in fact, I avoid answering the obvious "why" questions. I name and define plot, setting, mood, and character as we choose words, which is generally review for most students. I do the exercise on the board along with the students using a book we have previously read as a class or one with which the students are familiar. When it is time for the students to write the sentence, I usually hear lots of moans and questions. I take the opportunity to circulate, and help the students as I also struggle with the word choices I have made on the board.

My Favaurite Language links:

2005-10-20T15:52:00.000+08:00

1. http://www.english-to-go.com

This site provides ESL lessons to institutions, teachers and students around the world, for use either online or in hard copy formats. Their lessons are based on Reuter’s news stories.ETG’s products are more cost effective and efficient than any traditional publishing model.

We achieve this through our robust and scalable business model which is based around 4 key elements.

A qualified contract labour resource pool of ESL teachers that produce our educational resources.
A global base of geographic distributors who are connected with their markets and eager to take advantage of it.
Centralized marketing functions which are localized by our distributors.
Distribution via the Internet.

Therefore, this link is highly recommended for student from all levels and those who want to improve their skills - reading, writing, listening and speaking. It provides almost everything you want to know about English Language.

2. http://www.usingenglish.com/

UsingEnglish.com provides a large collection of ESL (English as a Second Language) resources for students, teachers, learners and academics. Browse our grammar glossary and references of irregular verbs, phrasal verbs and idioms, join our busy forums, read our articles, download our teacher handouts and printables, and find useful links and information on English. Topics cover the spectrum of ESL, EFL, ESOL, and EAP subject areas.

Blogging anyone...?

2005-10-20T15:30:00.000+08:00

Blog is short for weblog. A weblog is a journal (or newsletter) that is frequently updated and intended for general public consumption. Blogs generally represent the personality of the author or the Web site. Blogs can promote critical and analytical thinking.

There are several benefits you can obtain from blogging, such as:

Blogging can be a powerful promoter of creative, intuitive, and associational thinking.
Blogs promote analogical thinking.
Blogging is a powerful medium for increasing access and exposure to quality information.
Blogging combines the best of private reflection and social interaction.

In addition, blogging also encourage me to think creatively and play with the language in order to reflect my idea. Next, blog can surely enhance language learning. This is because, as we all know that our blog will be viewed by others, and we will carefully construct sentences and alert with the errors before posting our blog. It is recommended to use simple and comprehensible language in order to make our blog more interactive and user friendly…

Synchronous Chat -CMC-(Citcat Melalui Computer)...

2005-10-20T15:21:00.000+08:00

Synchronous or "real-time" communication can be accomplished either using special software programs for local area networks, using a variety of chat media such as Internet Relay Chat, Yahoo Messenger or Web chat programs.

The language used in computer-assisted discussion has been shown to be more lexically and syntactically complex than in face-to face discussion .This is likely due to the written nature of computer-mediated communication, which allows more planning time than oral communication and adopts more written syntactical features.

Next, it also improve passive speaker to take part in the chat room without being afraid of being condemned or shy to shout out face-to-face. It is also happens to a person like me who is kinda shy to speak up and it is the truth…when I started to be an active chatter after my S.P.M, it help me a lots in improving my English.

For whatever reasons, computer-mediated discussion seems to be a good vehicle for helping students to push their language to greater levels of complexity. Printed transcripts of computer-mediated discussions can also be used later for grammatical analysis or lessons.

For these reasons, many teachers also have found computer-assisted discussion advantageous on an occasional basis as a supplement to oral discussion. This is what have been exposed by Dr.Rozina in our class.(right Mdm...?)hehe..

Famous Quotes...

2005-10-20T15:05:00.000+08:00

"Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other."

- John F. Kennedy

"What is written without effort is read without pleasure."

Samuel Johnson

"Truth is beautiful, without doubt; but so are lies."

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

"The glory of friendship is not the outstretched hand, nor the kindly smile, nor the joy of companionship; it is the spiritual inspiration that comes to one when he discovers that someone else believes in him and is willing to trust him with his friendship."

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Forgiveness is the fragrance the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it."

-Mark Twain

"The perfect human being is all human beings put together, it is a collective, it is all of us together that make perfection."

-Socrates-

"One who condones evils is just as guilty as the one who perpetrates it."

-Dr. Martin Luthor King Jr.

"Which dreams indeed are ambition, for the very substance of the ambitious is merely the shadow of a dream"

-William Shakespeare

"We know what we are, but not what we may be."

-William Shakespeare

"Be sure you put your feet in the right place, then stand firm"

-Abraham Lincoln

Inspirational...

2005-10-20T10:19:00.000+08:00

Karma by Alicia Keys

Weren't you the one that said, that you don't want me anymore.

And how you need your space, and give the keys back to your door.

And how I cried and tried and tried to make you stay with me.

But still you said that love was gone, and that I had to leave.

Now you, talkin bout a family

Now you, sayin I complete your dream

Now you, sayin I'm your everything

You confusin me

What you say to me

Don't play with me

Don't play with me.

Cause what goes around, comes around.

What goes up, must come down.

Now who's cryin, desirin to come back to me

What goes around, comes around.

What goes up, must come down.

Now who's cryin, desirin to come back

I remember whenI was sittin home alone

Waitin for you

Til 3 o'clock in the morn

And when you came home, you'd always have some sorry excuse.

And explainin to me, like I'm just some kinda fool

I sacrifice the things I want to and do things for you

But when it's time to do for me, you never come through

Now you, wanna be a bond of me (eyyy)

Now you, have so much to say to me (heyy)

Now you, wanna make time for me

What you do to me.

You confusin me

Don't play with me

Don't play with me.

Cause what goes around, comes around.

What goes up, must come down.

Now who's cryin, desirin to come back to me

What goes around, comes around.

What goes up, must come down.

Now who's cryin, desirin to come back

I remember whenI was sittin home alone

Waitin for you

Til 3 o'clock in the morn

Night after night

Knowin sumthing goin on

Wasn't home befo me

You was,you was gone

Lord knows it wasn't easy, but believe me.

Never thought you'd be the one that would deceived me.

And never do wha u was supposed to do

No need to hose me fool, cause I'm ova you

Cause what goes around, comes around.

What goes up, must come down.

Now who's cryin, desirin to come back to me

What goes around, comes around.

What goes up, must come down.

Gotta stop tryin, to come back to me

What goes around, comes around.

What goes up, must come down.

It's called Karma baby.

And it goes around.

What goes around, comes around,

What goes up, must comes down,

Now who's cryin, desirin to come back to me