In Brief: Women Paying More Attention to Nutrition Labels

Whether it's nutrition information on food packaging or restaurant menus, women are paying more attention to it than men and everyone is looking more at the food labels than menus, finds a new Gallup poll.

The poll found that 43% of Americans say they pay a "great deal" or a "fair amount" of attention to nutrition information on restaurant menus; 68% say they pay at least a fair amount of attention to the calories, fats and other nutrition information on food labels.

The telephone poll was conducted last month with a random sample of 2,027 adults.

Whether looking at information at restaurants or on packaging, people who said they were at about the “right” weight paid more attention to nutrition information than those who said they were overweight. For example, among the consumers who said they pay a great deal of attention to the nutrition labels, 54 percent of resondents were at the right weight compared to 40 percent who were overweight.

Source: Gallup Poll release. In U.S., Less Than Half Look at Restaurant Nutrition Facts. August 9, 2013.