Nutrition fact labels can be a helpful tool when purchasing and eating products. Unfortunately, while displaying this content on packaged foods or menus in restaurants can be informative to some, it can also be problematic to people with eating disorders.
By: Maya Azar Atallah
Reviewed By: Chloe Baum
In eating disorder recovery, nutrition fact labels and menu labeling can do more harm than good, intensifying the obsession over food and numbers. Research has shown that when presented with menu labeling, people with anorexia and bulimia consume fewer calories than those with no menu labeling, while people with binge eating disorder tend to eat more when presented with menu labeling¹.
Nutrition fact labels can reinforce rigidity around food and encourage consumers to rely on external cues, such as numbers, rather than internal cues such as hunger and fullness². In eating disorder recovery, it is difficult to rely on internal satiety cues and harmful to rely on nutrition fact labels. A person struggling with an eating disorder should seek help from a dietitian to create an individualized meal plan. After working with a dietitian, and gaining stronger internal satiety cues, a person can begin to rely on their hunger and fullness.
The excess of information and numbers can be overwhelming and triggering. Still, some valuable perspectives around nutrition fact labels can help people with eating disorders navigate through the content and limit its harms. Below are some reminders to keep in mind regarding nutrition fact labels:
Nutrition Fact Labels Are Not Always Accurate
The content on nutrition labels can account for a margin of 20% discrepancy.³
Nutrition Fact Labels and Serving Sizes Do Not Account for What Each Body Requires
Each body is unique and requires a different amount of energy. This amount of energy also varies depending on the day. A person cannot rely on nutrition fact labels to tell them what their body needs. An individual should seek help from a dietitian if they find it difficult to rely on internal cues to provide their body nourishment.
Avoid Nutrition Fact Labels in Recovery
Nutrition labels can intensify symptoms during eating disorder recovery. There are a few tricks to avoiding these labels. Have your dietitian cover the labels by blacking out or placing a post-it over the labels, or place the food in reusable containers. Delete all the tracking applications that monitor your caloric and macronutrient consumption. Remember that these labels are inaccurate and harmful for recovery.
Reframe Your Thoughts
Every food provides a purpose. Food can provide nourishment, but it can also provide social connection and enjoyment. Instead of focusing on nutrition labels, focus on what each food can provide for you. We recognize that it is not easy to achieve this mindset during the recovery process, so it is important to work with a dietitian to aid in accepting all foods as a part of a balanced diet.
At BALANCE eating disorder treatment center™, our compassionate, highly skilled team of clinicians is trained in diagnosing and treating the spectrum of eating disorders, including anorexia, bulimia, binge eating disorder, compulsive overeating, and other disordered eating behaviors and body image issues. In addition to our full-time Day Treatment Program and Weeknight Intensive Outpatient Program, we offer high-quality programming, nutrition counseling with a dietitian, meal support, and various other groups and resources to help those seeking help for food concerns.
Our admissions team would be happy to answer any questions you may have about our programs and services. Book a free consultation call with our admissions team below, or read more about our philosophy here.
This post was written by BALANCE Blog Contributor, Maya Azar Atallah.
Maya is a Registered/Licensed Dietitian who is passionate about disordered eating and eating disorders. She is an advocate of the intuitive eating model and believes in the HAES movement. She recently completed a Masters degree in nutrition and behavior from Bournemouth University UK, and as part of her MSc, she conducted research among Lebanese young adults, evaluating the relationship between frequent usage of nutrition fact labels on packaged items, weight control measures, and its probable predictive factor of eating disorders incidence. She aimed to assess if high reliance on nutrition fact labels could be used as a tool triggering weight control measures and the onset of eating disorder symptoms. Maya likes preventing and assisting in the treatment of disordered eating and eating disorders, and loves to get involved in the field to help society become less weight centric, promote body inclusivity/positivity and shift away from the weight stigma society we live in, which can compromise health so much. She wants to help people in their eating disorder recovery by getting them the right or needed renourishment and guiding them through all the steps of the intuitive eating approach. She also hopes to pursue a PhD in public health to design policies for the primary prevention of eating disorders.
This post was reviewed by Chloe Baum.
Chloe is a graduate student at New York University completing her master’s degree in nutrition and dietetics. Throughout her studies, Chloe has become passionate about the treatment and awareness of eating disorders. After she graduates, Chloe hopes to specialize in eating disorders so she can promote body neutrality and help people in need of eating disorder counseling. In her free time, Chloe loves to cook, travel, and spend time with her husband and 7-month-old Jules.
References
- Haynos, A. F., & Roberto, C. A. (2017). The effects of restaurant menu calorie labeling on hypothetical meal choices of females with disordered eating: HAYNOS and ROBERTO. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 50(3), 275–283. https://doi.org/10.1002/eat.22675
- Hristina Byrnes, 2018. How the new FDA rules may impact people with eating disorders. https://www.theactivetimes.com/healthy-living/nutrition/how-new-fda-label-rules-may-impact-people-eating-disorders
- U.S. Food & Drug Administration. A Food Labeling Guide. Updated January 2013.
