Research

Adherence

Standard numerical nutrition labels are insufficient for accurate consumer assessment of nutrient levels, whereas the addition of interpretational aids (verbal descriptors and reference values) significantly improves the accuracy of product comparison and dietary context.

If you want to use nutrition labels to make healthier choices, look for products that include 'interpretational aids' like verbal descriptors (e.g., 'High in Fiber') or benchmarks (e.g., Guideline Daily Amounts). Standard numerical lists are often confusing and lead to errors, especially for complex comparisons. These aids make it easier to compare products and understand how a food fits into your overall diet without needing to do complex calculations.

ModerateQualifiesMEDIUM confidence
Available evidence suggests that consumers who do look at nutrition labels can understand some of the terms used but are confused by other types of information. Most appear able to retrieve simple information and make simple calculations and comparisons between products using numerical information, but their ability to interpret the nutrition label accurately reduces as the complexity of the task increases. The addition of interpretational aids like verbal descriptors and recommended reference values helps in product comparison and in putting products into a total diet context.
Gill Cowburn et al. · Public Health Nutrition · 2005

Why this rating

The review includes 103 papers, but only 9 are high/medium-high quality, and many rely on self-reported data rather than objective measures.

Source

Consumer understanding and use of nutrition labelling: a systematic review

Gill Cowburn et al. · Public Health Nutrition · 2005

DOI 10.1079/phn2005666

systematic_reviewCited 977×
Read the paper
DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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