Nutrition labels to get more user-friendly

Nutrition Facts panels are in store for a major overhaul.

Just in time for National Nutrition Month, which is observed during March, the Food and Drug Administration has proposed some new ways of presenting a food's nutrition information.

The goal is for food labels, which were first introduced 20 years ago, to offer more clarity about what's in particular food products and boost awareness about ingredients, said Rachel Berman, a registered dietitian and director of health at About.com.

"When the FDA added trans fats to food labels in 2006, it correlated to a decrease in consumption of trans fats in America," said Berman.

If approved by the FDA, the changes would take a couple years to go into effect. Here are major changes that could affect how you shop and eat:

Calories: Under the proposed changes, labels would focus on the total calories in each product, as nutritionists now believe that the number of overall calories we consume is more important than, say, fat.

Serving size: The serving size would be updated to reflect what we realistically eat. Take ice cream. A typical serving size listed on an ice cream container today is a half-cup, though most of us consume one cup per sitting.

"The proposed new labels will help clarify things by listing the total amount of calories typically eaten in a single sitting," said Berman. "The way labels are now, we've had to multiply the number of calories by servings in the package to see how much we're really eating. And too often, people aren't doing the math."

Readability: The proposed nutrition label changes could help guide people to healthier choices based on how the labels are written.

"Since ingredient lists are often lengthy and hard to read, the new food label may aim to repeat history by more prominently highlighting nutrients we need to reduce in our diets, such as added sugar," said Berman.

To help consumers focus on how much sugar is added to a product, the proposed new labels would require food manufacturers to list added sugar in larger, bolder type.

Advice: The FDA also recommended that future food labels group nutrients into categories with quick facts and advice. For example, the proposed labels will offer dietary advice, such as avoiding too many saturated fats, trans fats, cholesterol, sodium and added sugars while suggesting that consumers seek out fiber, vitamin D, calcium, iron and potassium.