Dietary Expert's Story - about GDAs
Nigel Denby, Bsc Hons, Rd, Harley St Dietitian
I see patients day after
day who clamour for
help in improving
their health through
dietary change. I know
two things to be true:
a) How tough this is for
them and b) How strong their
desire is to make this change.
All nutrition labels can help in two ways:
- By informing them about the nutrient content
of the food they are considering buying
- By giving people information that helps them
see how a food fits into a balanced diet thus
allowing them to tailor their diet to meet their
own needs
Having reviewed both Multiple Traffic Lights (MTL) and GDA labels I am certain
that, while the provision of any helpful information on
the nutrients in food is helpful, the latter are the best
way forward to help me help my patients.
Guideline Daily Amounts are based on sound,
independent science: they were first set in 1998,
following collaboration between the UK government,
consumer organisations and the food industry, which
was overseen by the Institute of Grocery Distribution.
They were based on the recommendations of the
COMA report on Dietary Reference Values that still
stand as the main basis for dietary recommendations
in the UK.
Colour coding, on the other hand – as
recommended by the Food Standards Agency –
has six potential shortcomings in helping people
make the best food choices:
- They do not take into account the typical
portion size of foods we eat and always apply
to 100g of product
- The colour coded bands are very wide, which
means that patients may think products are
nutritionally equal, when in fact they may have
quite large nutritional differences (this can also
stifle a company's desire to produce new,
healthier variants of existing foods that I can
then recommend)
- Calories are not a mandatory inclusion in
the list of information
- They don't apply successfully to all foods in
the diet
- They demonise foods into being good or bad
- They do not enjoy the sound scientific base that
underpins the GDA system
With GDA labels I can teach my patients about the
importance of portion size and calories for all foods in
their diet. With MTL labels I simply cannot.
It has been argued that overlaying MTL colours onto
GDA labels could give people the best of both worlds,
but the sad reality is that this could quite easily make
things, not better, but worse. Here are just three
examples:
1. They may hide the healthier option
Here are two real-life ready meals, which are similar in
calorie, sugar and salt levels, but one has three times'
the saturated fat and over 50% more salt than the
other. Overlaying traffic light colour coding masks this
reality, because at a casual glance they appear identical.
Tomato and basil chicken
Lasagne
2. They may imply undue endorsement
The problem spreads beyond unfair demonising or
misrepresenting, as MTL labels might also imply praise
where it might not be due, thus encouraging
consumers to eat some foods less cautiously than
they ought.
Here is an example:
A quarter of a bag of wine gums contains almost 40%
of your GDA for sugar, yet the at-a-glance approach,
gives this product three green 'approval' scores…
perhaps encouraging shoppers to think that they are a
healthier option.
Wine gums
3. Demonising foods we should be
encouraged to eat
Because they were designed for specific categories
of food, rather than for everything we eat, traffic
lights have the unfortunate tendency to put a
large number of red warning signs on foods that
most healthy people should include in a sensible
balanced diet. Here are three examples:
- The FSA's website advises that milk and dairy
products such as cheese, yogurt and fromage
frais are great sources of proteins and vitamins
A and B12. They are also an important source of
calcium, which helps to keep our bones strong.
However, most cheeses will have up to four
red traffic lights, or at best a mixture of amber
and red
- The government recommends that we include
two portions of oily fish in our diet weekly, yet a
product like marinated herring scores one red
(for salt) and three amber marks
- The government also advises to eat nutrient
dense sources of energy such as nuts, yet salted
cashew nuts score red on all four measures
On their own GDA labels are objective, easy to
understand, and likely to help people regard food in
the context of their whole diet. I recommend them.
About Nigel
Still a practicing dietitian, author of the
GL Diet and broadcaster, Nigel combines his dietetic
training with a love of food – he is a trained chef and
restaurateur. His numerous TV appearances include
BBC1, ITV1 and BBC2 and he has written for the
Sunday Telegraph Magazine, Zest, Essentials and
Somerfield Magazine. He is the author of “the GDA
diet” book, which launches in January 2009.
Find out more
More information
References
- Department of Health. Report on Health and Social Subjects No 41.
Dietary Reference Values for Food Energy and Nutrients for the
United Kingdom. London: HMSO 1991
Last reviewed: 27 Apr 2009