photo: Mayhem/ BY-NC-SA

The following originally aired on KCBS.

By Ross Andrews

To say that American consumers are being tricked is an understatement.

Like most Americans, I eat packaged foods every day. Fortunately, I have a fast metabolism so I rarely look at the nutrition labels on the foods I eat. But for the majority of Americans who do check labels, many don’t understand the loopholes and intricacies of the labeling system.

The other night my mom brought a microwaveable pizza home for dinner. “I just couldn’t believe how few calories were in this, I just had to buy it!” she said excitedly. Then after eating three quarters of the pizza, I realized that I had eaten two servings amounting to about half my recommended calories for the day.

Shiny labels, exaggerated health claims, and misleading serving sizes, trick us into eating things we shouldn’t. There’s a reason Americans don’t check serving sizes - they don’t make sense. We need to find ways for consumers to make healthy choices. Changing serving sizes on packaged foods to what people actually eat is just the start.