Nutritional content and healthiness in sweet and salty snacks and beverages popular in South Korea and the United States assessed by nutrition labels: a cross-sectional comparative study
Objectives This study investigated the nutritional differences between sweet and salty snacks and beverages in South Korea (Korea) and the United States (US). Nutritional content and healthiness were determined using back- and front-of-package nutrition labeling (FoPNL) systems. Methods Three snack...
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The Korean Society of Community Nutrition
2024-12-01
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| Series: | Korean Journal of Community Nutrition |
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| Online Access: | http://kjcn.or.kr/upload/pdf/kjcn-2024-00290.pdf |
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| author | Bo Jeong Gong Segovia Lucas Diewo Camara Pauline E. Jolly Chandrika Piyathilake Taisun Hyun |
| author_facet | Bo Jeong Gong Segovia Lucas Diewo Camara Pauline E. Jolly Chandrika Piyathilake Taisun Hyun |
| author_sort | Bo Jeong Gong |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Objectives This study investigated the nutritional differences between sweet and salty snacks and beverages in South Korea (Korea) and the United States (US). Nutritional content and healthiness were determined using back- and front-of-package nutrition labeling (FoPNL) systems. Methods Three snack and three beverage categories popular in Korea and the US were selected. Statistical data were used to determine the top 10–15 best-selling products in each category in each country. The selected products included chips (n = 15), cookies (n = 10), chocolate (n = 13), carbonated drinks (n = 10), fruit juices/drinks (n = 10, 5/5), and energy drinks (n = 10). The study excluded products that were artificially sweetened. Nutritional information and percentages of fruit and vegetable content in each product were collected from brand websites and grocery stores in each country. The FoPNL system was used to assess the healthiness of the products, which included multiple traffic light labels, a Health Star Rating, and a Nutri-Score. Results Overall, Korean snacks contained significantly more protein, total fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol than US snacks. However, the US chips and carbonated drinks contained more sodium, while the US energy drinks contained more caffeine than Korean products. The serving size of US carbonated drinks was significantly larger than that of Korean drinks, whereas the serving size of US chips was smaller than that of Korean products. The FoPNL system classified the majority of products as ‘less healthy.’ Conclusion Our results suggest that Korean and US food manufacturers should improve the nutritional quality and/or serving size of commonly consumed food products. Policymakers in both countries should work to improve the presentation of nutrient information on nutrition labels to assist consumers in making healthier food choices. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-fa728ff39c2c4a09a954be30ca9cda96 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2951-3146 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | The Korean Society of Community Nutrition |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Korean Journal of Community Nutrition |
| spelling | doaj-art-fa728ff39c2c4a09a954be30ca9cda962025-02-03T23:30:24ZengThe Korean Society of Community NutritionKorean Journal of Community Nutrition2951-31462024-12-0129646747910.5720/kjcn.2024.002901668Nutritional content and healthiness in sweet and salty snacks and beverages popular in South Korea and the United States assessed by nutrition labels: a cross-sectional comparative studyBo Jeong Gong0Segovia Lucas1Diewo Camara2Pauline E. Jolly3Chandrika Piyathilake4Taisun Hyun5 Doctoral Student, Department of Food and Nutrition, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju, Korea Bachelor of Arts, Latino Health Studies, Tufts University, Medford, MA, USA Bachelor of Science, Public Health, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA Professor Emeritas, Department of Epidemiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA Professor Emeritas, Department of Nutrition Science, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA Professor, Department of Food and Nutrition, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju, KoreaObjectives This study investigated the nutritional differences between sweet and salty snacks and beverages in South Korea (Korea) and the United States (US). Nutritional content and healthiness were determined using back- and front-of-package nutrition labeling (FoPNL) systems. Methods Three snack and three beverage categories popular in Korea and the US were selected. Statistical data were used to determine the top 10–15 best-selling products in each category in each country. The selected products included chips (n = 15), cookies (n = 10), chocolate (n = 13), carbonated drinks (n = 10), fruit juices/drinks (n = 10, 5/5), and energy drinks (n = 10). The study excluded products that were artificially sweetened. Nutritional information and percentages of fruit and vegetable content in each product were collected from brand websites and grocery stores in each country. The FoPNL system was used to assess the healthiness of the products, which included multiple traffic light labels, a Health Star Rating, and a Nutri-Score. Results Overall, Korean snacks contained significantly more protein, total fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol than US snacks. However, the US chips and carbonated drinks contained more sodium, while the US energy drinks contained more caffeine than Korean products. The serving size of US carbonated drinks was significantly larger than that of Korean drinks, whereas the serving size of US chips was smaller than that of Korean products. The FoPNL system classified the majority of products as ‘less healthy.’ Conclusion Our results suggest that Korean and US food manufacturers should improve the nutritional quality and/or serving size of commonly consumed food products. Policymakers in both countries should work to improve the presentation of nutrient information on nutrition labels to assist consumers in making healthier food choices.http://kjcn.or.kr/upload/pdf/kjcn-2024-00290.pdfnutrition labelingnutritional valueserving sizesnacks |
| spellingShingle | Bo Jeong Gong Segovia Lucas Diewo Camara Pauline E. Jolly Chandrika Piyathilake Taisun Hyun Nutritional content and healthiness in sweet and salty snacks and beverages popular in South Korea and the United States assessed by nutrition labels: a cross-sectional comparative study Korean Journal of Community Nutrition nutrition labeling nutritional value serving size snacks |
| title | Nutritional content and healthiness in sweet and salty snacks and beverages popular in South Korea and the United States assessed by nutrition labels: a cross-sectional comparative study |
| title_full | Nutritional content and healthiness in sweet and salty snacks and beverages popular in South Korea and the United States assessed by nutrition labels: a cross-sectional comparative study |
| title_fullStr | Nutritional content and healthiness in sweet and salty snacks and beverages popular in South Korea and the United States assessed by nutrition labels: a cross-sectional comparative study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Nutritional content and healthiness in sweet and salty snacks and beverages popular in South Korea and the United States assessed by nutrition labels: a cross-sectional comparative study |
| title_short | Nutritional content and healthiness in sweet and salty snacks and beverages popular in South Korea and the United States assessed by nutrition labels: a cross-sectional comparative study |
| title_sort | nutritional content and healthiness in sweet and salty snacks and beverages popular in south korea and the united states assessed by nutrition labels a cross sectional comparative study |
| topic | nutrition labeling nutritional value serving size snacks |
| url | http://kjcn.or.kr/upload/pdf/kjcn-2024-00290.pdf |
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