As I was finishing off a bag of pre-popped popcorn, I decided to read the label. To my surprise, the half bag I had already consumed was considered 3 servings. Oops, that was a total of 480 calories for that little snack. I would have done much better grabbing a piece of fruit! When I originally bought the bag of popcorn, I saw the calorie count as 160 calories per serving and figured that would be a low calorie snack. But looking more carefully at the label, the portion size and amount of sugar in the popcorn were more than I bargained for in terms of low cal! Most people would consume more than a half of a cup of popcorn for a serving.

Don’t despair, the theme of the government helping the people continues.  Michelle Obama takes her Let’s Move campaign to food labels. Actually,  I like her idea. She wants calorie counts to be bolder and bigger, grams of sugar to be added (how about teaspoons instead of grams. Who understands grams?), total, saturated and trans fat listed, vitamin D and potassium added.

Probably the most important change will be what tripped me up. The total calories of a serving size people typical eat will be added. For example, no more half a cup of ice cream size, but rather a cup. And who drinks part of a soda?

So basically, I like the changes. What I don’t like is the added cost. Again, who pays for this? Ultimately, the cost will get passed along to the consumer.

The hope is this change will inform the consumer, but the consumer still has to read labels and take personal responsibility for what he or she is eating and buying. And no regulation can fix that problem.