Awareness and Practices about Using Food Labeling among Adolescents in the City of Vijayapura, Karnataka

Abstract

Background: Obesity among Indian adolescents is on the rise. Obesity among Indian adolescents is on the rise and unhealthy snacking habits, and consumption of processed and packaged foods are a major cause of it. Food labels on packets provide information on its contents; however, its awareness and use are to be evaluated. Methodology: A cross-sectional study among 206 adolescents of a 2 tier city in South India were administered questionnaire to assess their awareness and practice using food label information. Results: All the adolescents purchased packaged foods at least once during their school time, with chips/biscuits being the most commonly bought foods. About 86% of them were aware of food labels and only 57% knew about nutritional information. Endorsement by celebrity or peer approval made the nutritional claims more trustworthy. About half always read labels before buying, and “date of manufacture” or “date of expiry” was the most commonly read information. Conclusion: The awareness regarding food package labels is high among adolescents; however, their actual usage is low. There is a need to educate adolescents regarding food label use and study alternative methods to display label information effectively.

Keywords

• adolescents
• awareness
• food labels
• south india