POTENTIAL HEALTH BENEFITS OF NUTRITION LABEL CHANGES

Objectives. The Nutrition Labeling and Education Act of 1990 mandates the Food and Drug Administration to promulgate changes in nutrition la beling regulations. This study investigates the potential health benef its associated with expected changes in food consumption resulting fro m the act. Methods. This paper provides four estimates of the potentia l health benefits from the dietary changes expected to occur as result of the 1990 act. The upper bound estimates begin with the premise tha t all consumers will adopt the daily reference values of total fat, sa turated fat, and cholesterol. The lower bound estimate is based on con sumers' responses to a shelf-labeling program sponsored by the Food an d Drug Administration in the 1980s. A computer model developed by Dr. Warren Browner and his associates was used to estimate the health bene fits from reduced nutrient intakes. Results. Estimates of the number o f discounted life-years gained nationwide for the first 20 years after the implementation of the act range from a high of 1.2 million to a l ow of 40 000. Conclusions. The results of the study highlight that rel atively small changes in nutrient intakes may generate large public he alth benefits.