Beware of Health Halos: How Food Labels Mislead Consumers on Nutrition
Every business that sells food strives to make its products appear as appetizing as possible. This is why television advertisements never highlight mediocre flavors or high sodium content. No brand would survive if it boasted, "Our product tastes great, but it could lead to a heart attack!" However, for health-conscious consumers, it is crucial to be aware of health halos, or labeling terminology that implies a product is more nutritious than it truly is.
The Concept of Health Halos
The term "health halo" has been in use for at least two decades, and virtually any food or beverage product can have one attached to it. The issue for consumers is that a health halo never tells the full story—only a part of it. Too often, when we encounter these labels, we assume the best about the product without scrutinizing the details.
Common Health Halos to Watch Out For
Here are some of the most famous, or infamous, health halos that consumers should pay attention to.
All Natural, 100% Natural, Natural
The word "natural" on a food label is practically meaningless, according to Margot Vigeant, a food scientist and professor of chemical engineering at Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. Vigeant explains that "any product that isn’t using artificial flavors can bill itself as 'all natural.'" While it might be reassuring to know there are no artificial flavors in your snack, the problem arises when consumers let those two words influence their thinking too much.
"Many consumers infer from that that the product is healthful," Vigeant said. However, there is a good chance it is not. "An 'all natural' food can still have significant quantities of sugar or salt or other ingredients that are unhealthful in excess," she added.
Fat-Free or Anything Else That Is 'Free,' Like Sugar-Free
This is a tricky category because it is both true and very important for some consumers that a product is completely free from a particular ingredient they may be sensitive to or allergic to. Vigeant emphasizes that "it’s very important that labels like this exist and are clear and easy for consumers to find." She notes that if a company claims a product is 100% fat-free, it is generally accurate.
Some health halos are beneficial, and it is fine to be a little cynical about them without automatically assuming the worst. However, "the negative outcome arises when some consumers turn 'This product is free from a thing that is bad for me' into 'Because this product is not bad, it is good for me,'" Vigeant said. This shift can lead consumers to treat a fat-free or gluten-free cookie as a health food, even though it remains a cookie. Fat-free or sugar-free does not mean the product is sodium-free, artificial sweetener-free, preservative-free, or calorie-free.
No High Fructose Corn Syrup
High-fructose corn syrup, often abbreviated as HFCS, is a processed sugar. While your taste buds may love it, your liver might not, and consuming large amounts of HFCS or other sugars can lead to excess fat production in the body. Many consumers see "no high-fructose corn syrup" on packaging and think, "Cool. I can buy this, and no harm done." But that is not necessarily the case, according to Ali Besharat, a marketing professor at the Daniels College of Business at the University of Denver, who studies consumer behavior and decision-making.
Besharat explains that the phrase "no high-fructose corn syrup" "implies that the absence of this specific sweetener makes the product healthy or lower in sugar." In reality, it is probably neither. "Manufacturers frequently replace HFCS with cane sugar, beet sugar or tapioca syrup, sweeteners that are metabolically nearly identical to HFCS. Thus, this label creates a health halo that distracts from the total sugar load," Besharat said.
Multigrain
This label is another health halo. If grains were living, breathing people, a whole grain would be a certified fitness instructor who mountain bikes in her spare time, while a refined grain would be asleep on the sofa in his underwear. Whole grains are rich in fiber, vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients, contributing to lower cholesterol, weight, and blood pressure. Refined grains, on the other hand, have had the beneficial components like fiber and vitamins removed.
Food manufacturers prefer refined grains because they have a longer shelf life, and many people enjoy their flavor, such as in white bread. The term "multigrain" literally tells you nothing about the product's healthiness. "It implies whole grain, high fiber and complex carbohydrates," Besharat said. "Multigrain is a semantic trick. It simply means that more than one type of grain was used in the recipe. It doesn’t require any of those grains to be whole grains."
High Protein
Protein has been trending for several years, with everyone seemingly wanting more of it. It is essential for bones, skin, blood, and cartilage, and can aid in weight loss and muscle building. Consequently, food companies are eager to meet this demand. If you see the word "protein" on food packaging, you should view it skeptically, Besharat advises, noting that it now appears on everything from snacks to cereals.
The protein halo is often used "to mask extreme levels of sugar," Besharat said. "A protein bar can contain 20 grams of sugar and high levels of carbs, but the presence of 10 grams of isolated soy or whey protein allows it to be marketed in the fitness aisle." It is also important to remember that excessive protein intake can be unhealthy, potentially leading to heart attacks, strokes, and certain cancers.
Fiber
Fiber is currently gaining popularity, with some experts predicting it will soon rival protein in trendiness. There is even a term for consuming large amounts of fiber: fibermaxxing. Found primarily in plant foods like fruits, vegetables, and grains, fiber can help with weight management and reduce the risk of diabetes, heart disease, and some cancers.
While seeing "fiber" on a product label is positive, consumers could likely obtain more fiber from less packaged foods. Dr. Grant Fowler, chair of family medicine at the Anne Burnett Marion School of Medicine at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, suggests heading to the produce aisle. "Ideally, you want to be eating fresh fruits and vegetables, fish and a lot of whole grains," Fowler said. "With a lot of products that have fiber on the packaging, the fiber is all chopped up."
'Healthy' Pictures
Another element to watch for is imagery on packaging, according to Debbie Danowski, associate professor of communication and media at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut, and author of the upcoming book "Images of Health in Food Advertising: Misleading Marketing and the Health Belief Model." Health halo images can sway consumers into believing a product is healthier than it actually is.
Danowski notes that you might see "colors or images associated with nature, or whole, unprocessed, genuine foods." For example, an apple-flavored breakfast bar might display pictures of apples, even though the product is far less nutritious than a real apple. Additionally, images promoting a healthy lifestyle, such as jogging, mountain climbing, or biking, can create a health halo. While the food might support your fitness goals, do not assume it does without checking the label's ingredients.
The Bottom Line
The key lesson with health halos on food packaging is to read the label thoroughly. Do not let flashy phrases or pictures distract you from your goal of healthier eating. This strategy is rooted in timeless advice: look before you leap, do not judge a book by its cover, and when examining a box of cereal, canned meat, or a carton of juice, remember that it is what is on the inside that truly counts.
