Part I  Using Food Labels

Choose three food items to evaluate. You might want to select three similar items, such as regular, low-fat, and nonfat salad dressing, or three very different items. Record the information from their food labels in the table below.

Food Items
Serving size
Total calories cal cal cal
Total fat -- grams g g g
Total fat -- % Daily Value % % %
Saturated fat -- grams g g g
Saturated fat -- % Daily Value % % %
Trans fat -- grams g g g
Cholesterol -- milligrams mg mg mg
Cholesterol -- % Daily Value % % %
Sodium -- milligrams mg mg mg
Sodium -- % Daily Value % % %
Carbohydrates (total) -- grams g g g
Carbohydrates (total) -- % Daily Value % % %
Dietary fiber -- grams g g g
Dietary fiber -- % Daily Value % % %
Sugars -- grams g g g
Protein -- grams g g g
Vitamin A -- % Daily Value % % %
Vitamin C -- % Daily Value % % %
Calcium -- % Daily Value % % %
Iron -- % Daily Value % % %

How do the items you chose compare? You can do a quick nutrient check by totaling the Daily Value percentages for nutrients you should limit (total fat, cholesterol, sodium) and the nutrients you should favor (dietary fiber, vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium, iron) for each food. Which food has the largest percent Daily Value sum for nutrients to limit? For nutrients to favor?

Food Items
Total calories cal cal cal
% Daily Value total for nutrients to limit (total fat, cholesterol, sodium) % % %
% Daily Value total for nutrients to favor (fiber, vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium, iron) % % %

Part II Evaluating Fast Food

Use the information from Appendix A, Nutritional Content of Popular Items from Fast-Food Restaurants, to complete the chart below for the last fast-food meal you ate. The totals for the meal will automatically add up. Compare the values for fat, protein, carbohydrate, cholesterol, and sodium content for each food item and for the meal as a whole with the levels suggested by the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. The percentage of total calories derived from fat, saturated fat, protein, and carbohydrate will be calculated using the formulas given below.

If you haven't recently been to one of the restaurants included in the appendix, fill in the chart for any sample meal you might eat. If some of the food items you selected don't appear in Appendix A, ask for a nutrition information brochure when you visit the restaurant, or check out the online fast-food information:

FOOD ITEMS

Food Items
  Dietary Guidelines Total b
Serving size (g)    g  g  g  g  g  g  g
Calories  cal  cal  cal  cal  cal  cal  cal
Total fat--grams  g  g  g  g  g  g  g
--% calories a 20-35%  %  %  %  %  %  %  %
Sat. fat--grams    g  g  g  g  g  g  g
--% calories a < 10%  %  %  %  %  %  %  %
Protein--grams    g  g  g  g  g  g  g
--% calories a 10-35%  %  %  %  %  %  %  %
Carb.--grams    g  g  g  g  g  g  g
--% calories a 45-65%  %  %  %  %  %  %  %
Cholesterol c 100 mg  mg  mg  mg  mg  mg  mg  mg
Sodium c 800 mg  mg  mg  mg  mg  mg  mg  mg

aTo calculate the percent of total calories from each food energy source (fat, carbohydrate, protein), use the following formula:
(number of grams of energy source) x (number of calories per gram of energy source)
(total calories in serving of food item)

(Note: Fat and saturated fat provide 9 calories per gram; protein and carbohydrate provide 4 calories per gram.) For example, the percent of total calories from protein in a 150-calorie dish containing 10 grams of protein is:
(10 grams of protein) x (4 calories per gram)
(150 calories) 		= 40
150 		= 0.27, or 27% of total calories from protein

bFor the Total column, add up the total grams of fat, carbohydrate, and protein contained in your sample meal and calculate the percentages based on the total calories in the meal. (Percentages may not total 100% due to rounding.) For cholesterol and sodium values, add up the total number of milligrams.

cRecommended daily limits of cholesterol and sodium are divided by 3 here to give an approximate recommended limit for a single meal.