Participants stressed that devising a universal, as a broad term. “Healthy” definition could prove challenging because of what one’s perception “healthy” means is subjective. Some key points included: Foods are healthy only within the context of a healthy dietary pattern and overconsumption of any food regardless of the food components or nutrients can be unhealthy. of which foods are healthy may depend on his or An individual’s understanding her health goals. For example, someone trying to lose weight may think of healthy differently than someone wanting to build muscle. of what means can be influenced by their Consumers’ perceptions “healthy” background, values, culture, family, education, generation, and other personal factors. Consumers can sometimes merge with other product claims such as “healthy” and Some people perceive foods with these “organic,” “non-GMO,” “gluten free.” attributes as healthy, though this assertion is not based on nutritional make-up of the food. While some participants suggested that the term should not be allowed “healthy” in food labeling, others predicted that if were not allowed and defined, “healthy” food producers would likely gravitate more toward terms with a similar meaning such as and and potentially increase consumer confusion. “fit” “smart” Combined definition. Some of the rationale for considering a combined nutrient-based and food component-based definition included: Incorporating more food component criteria into the definition may align better with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, and allow for the term to “healthy” apply to foods such as avocados and nuts, which do not qualify as under “healthy” the current definition. There should continue to be nutrient-based disqualifying criteria. For example, foods with added sodium or sugar can be part of a healthy diet, although the individual item may not be considered healthy. It is important that nutrients, and the percentage of the DV of those nutrients, continue to be considered in the overall definition of “healthy.” Fortification (adding nutrients) should not be allowed when its sole purpose is to qualify the food for the designation. “healthy”
“Healthy” as a broad term. Participants stressed that devising a universal, definition could prove challenging because one’s perception of what “healthy” means is subjective. Some key points included: Foods are healthy only within the context of a healthy dietary pattern and overconsumption of any food regardless of the food components or nutrients can be unhealthy. An individual’s understanding of which foods are healthy may depend on his or her health goals. For example, someone trying to lose weight may think of healthy differently than someone wanting to build muscle. Consumers’ perceptions of what “healthy” means can be influenced by their background, values, culture, family, education, generation, and other personal factors. Consumers can sometimes merge “healthy” with other product claims such as “organic,” “non-GMO,” and “gluten free.” Some people perceive foods with these attributes as healthy, though this assertion is not based on nutritional make-up of the food. While some participants suggested that the term “healthy” should not be allowed in food labeling, others predicted that if “healthy” were not allowed and defined, food producers would likely gravitate more toward terms with a similar meaning such as “fit” and “smart” and potentially increase consumer confusion. Combined definition. Some of the rationale for considering a combined nutrient-based and food component-based definition included: Incorporating more food component criteria into the definition may align better with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, and allow for the term “healthy” to apply to foods such as avocados and nuts, which do not qualify as “healthy” under the current definition. There should continue to be nutrient-based disqualifying criteria. For example, foods with added sodium or sugar can be part of a healthy diet, although the individual item may not be considered healthy. It is important that nutrients, and the percentage of the DV of those nutrients, continue to be considered in the overall definition of “healthy.” Fortification (adding nutrients) should not be allowed when its sole purpose is to qualify the food for the “healthy” designation.