Food marketers have an opportunity to help consumers who are seeking healthy foods by providing easy-to-understand nutrition information on-pack, according to a new report from Nielsen.  The research company polled 25,000 consumers in 53 nations and found that more than half consider themselves overweight and even more (59%) admit having trouble reading nutrition labels.   Nielsen’s advice is to simply labels and make them more consumer friendly – think USA Today style.  The findings also reveal consumer skepticism over such better for you claims as “low fat” and “all natural.”

Better4You brand managers beware of partnerships with breads and comfort foods!  Heather Bauer, an RD who writes for the Huffington Post, slams the foods as part of her new book on emotional eating, Bread is the Devil. Bauer writes: “Whether it’s happy, sad, depressed, elated, your mood can often affect your food choices.   There’s one Devil that can lurk quietly and unobtrusively in the background, undermining your best efforts at weight loss. This Devil is emotional eating. Almost everyone who has struggled with weight has experienced episodes of emotional eating.”  Bauer suggests controlling emotional eating by recognition and control.

The Huffington Post’s Charity Curly Matthews asks “why does the all best comfort food have to be so packed with butter, sugar or bacon?  She suggests five comfort food makeovers that consumers should try.  Smart thinking on her part as brands look for ways to serve up better4you recipes to moms.    Bacon and Cheddar Macaroni & Cheese – use whole wheat pasta, reduce cheese by one cup, add half a cup of pureed white beans and one cup of finely shredded carrot.  Banana Bread - Add another banana, use whole wheat flour, reduce the sugar by half and substitute half the oil (or melted butter) with applesauce. Meatloaf - use ground turkey, double the amount of sauteed veggies called for, such as carrots, and add a half cup of pureed spinach.  Peach Cobbler  – use whole wheat flour instead of white and reduce sugar by half.    Pancakes from a Box Mix – Add half a cup of low-fat yogurt and a quarter cup of wheat germ, increasing the amount of milk to your batter as needed. Also throw in a cup of your family’s favorite fruit: bananas, frozen peaches, diced apples all work beautifully.

Here’s a great opportunity for a better4you brand to improve the nutrition habits of one needy state.  South Dakota’s fruit and vegetable consumption is lacking, according to the most recent research. “In fact, it’s quite dismal,” said state nutritionist Kristin Biskeborn.   According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that measured adult fruit and vegetable consumption in 2009, South Dakota showed the lowest proportion of people in the U.S. – 19.6 percent – who consume vegetables three or more times per day. Ironic, for a state know n for growing corn and soybeans!  In North Dakota, 24.6 percent ate vegetables at least three times a day, and in Minnesota, the rate reached 26.4 percent. The highest rate in the country came from Tennessee, which clocked in at at 33 percent.

Blogger Jeff Wells writes in Supermarket News that MyPlate has gathered healthy momentum as a colorful, easy-to-understand reference guide. Unlike its dreadful predecessor the Food Pyramid, which flummoxed kids and adults alike for years, MyPlate centers its advice on a practical object and sets simple, actionable standards.  To supermarkets, it’s becoming a helpful marketing tool. HEB, which operates more than 300 stores around Texas, gave the logo a prominent role in an online recipe portal, emphasizing its importance as both a symbol and as a practical guide for shoppers to follow.  As an aspiration, MyPlate holds a lot of appeal for consumers.  The blogger cites a study by M Booth’s Better4You, which reveals that 46% of Americans are aware of the MyPlate guidelines, and 60% of that group says they’d like to follow them or have planned to do so.

Food marketers should lead by example and make some smart dietary decisions as we begin the New Year.  Better4You adviser Amy Hendel offers this advice:   Temptations abound in bakery windows, mall- shopping arenas and especially in the food baskets we receive from well- intentioned friends and family.  So can you truly have success at trying to be nutritionally responsible, not sabotaging your current eating program, or at minimum preventing the “holiday 5” from thickening your waistband? Here are some ideas that will certainly help you have a tasty holiday without packing on too many pounds:

1. Switch to low fat or non fat dairy products
2. Use sugar substitutes
3. Use alternate proteins like beans, fish, tofu, egg whites and lean beef cuts and white meat to reduce saturated fat
4. Use “no oil” spray, vegetable broth for frying or bake in parchment paper.
5. Make open face sandwiches meaning you lose one piece of the bread.
6. Use fruit based desserts for nutrient and fiber benefits
7. Replace cream with evaporated skim milk or soy milk

What a great opportunity for a better4you brand to sponsor a clever retro fitness campaign in the schools!  NYC school PS75 recently promoted its newest health and exercise initiative by staging a double dutch demo for its students led by double dutch jump-rope championship teams from Japan. The school, which is the first in New York City to win a Healthier Bronze Award from the White House and is participating in the Department of Education and Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s Move to Improve  fitness program, enjoyed a preview of this Sunday’s 20th annual International Double Dutch Holiday Classic at the Apollo Theater, where the Japanese teams will compete.