How far would you need to run to burn off the calories in a candy bar? A recent paper asks whether providing answers to this type of question on food packaging might reduce calorie intake.

Including nutritional information on food packaging can help consumers decide whether they want to buy a product.

However, according to the authors of a new review and meta-analysis, "Evidence shows that current front-of-pack nutrition information on food [and] drinks is having a limited effect on changing purchasing or eating behaviors."

Although the numbers of calories are clearly marked on food labels, for many people, these numbers are quite meaningless.

Because obesity is so prevalent, particularly in the Western world, many researchers are looking for ways to address it.

Making changes to food labels is a relatively simple, cost effective intervention; if experts can find a way to use food labels to influence food choices, it could have a substantial impact on the weight of the population of the United States, for example.

The Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health recently published the findings of the new analysis.

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