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type two diabetes dissertation

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amyc062

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Hello all, I am doing a project of type 2 and traffic light food labelling. How many people here look at the nutritional labels on packaging? I am aiming to find out if the new proposed front of pack, traffic light (red, amber green) labelling system will help consumers and empower them to make healthier choices. Do you think this Department of health government initiative will help reduce obesity epidemic and levels of type two diabetes which is crippling the NHS. I would love to get your thoughts.
 
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Hi amy, I think everyone who is serious about their diabetes will look at the packaging - the problem is that the labelling system only identifies the sugar content and whether it is high or low - people with diabetes need to know the carbohydrate content, not just the sugar.

I would also add that you shouldn't really be using the tabloid phrases 'obesity epidemic' and 'crippling the NHS' - many people find these offensive and accusatory, implying that anyone with Type 2 diabetes has only themselves to blame. In fact, a large proportion of people with Type2 are not overweight at diagnosis, and those who are may be overweight due to their undiagnosed diabetes causing them to gain weight. It is not the simple, straightforward equation many people would have you believe.
 
My opinion is that the Traffic Light system is a hopeless mis-step, and a huge wasted opportunity.

Specifically, from a 'diabetes' perspective, the focus on sugar and 'of which sugars' is a waste of time IMO unless one is comparing two identical products side by side (which is not in reality how these pack labels will generally be used).

So many entirely unsuitable choices (for people with diabetes and/or a propensity to gain weight) will get a clean bill of 'traffic light' health - wholemeal/brown/50:50 breads and most breakfast cereals for example, which all need to be treated with extreme caution in many forum members' experience.

It was interesting, on one of those BBC documentaries, how many more sweets people ate if they were labelled 'light' (in that they contained little fat). If you put 'green' stickers on things people will eat more of them - even if the food will push their BG skywards.

More ranting here: http://www.everydayupsanddowns.co.uk/2012/10/seeing-red-food-labelling-traffic.html
 
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Just - Hear Hear !

The system lulls people - especially diabetic people - into a completely false sense of security IMHO.
 
Agree with the others. Most T2s are not members of this or any other forum (much as we'd like them to be), and can be woefully ill-informed. If packaging suggests something is good, it's easy to pick it up thinking it's a healthy choice.
 
I hate that traffic light system thing.

Just tell me the goddamn carbs of stuff!!!! I hate "fresh to go" type things in supermarkets which for some reason don't have to have nutritional info on them at all?! Maybe calories if you are lucky.

but I am type 1 anyway so it's not relevant to the question really, sorry.
 
there is a lot of confusion with food labelling. I have had the conversation with many people about items labelled 'low'. Low usually means it is lower in fat, and yoghurts for example may be lower in fat but some are higher in sugar so are no better for you.
 
I think what we really need to know in, simple language, is how much carbohydrate, fat, salt and sugar an item contains. The traffic light system doesn't add anything useful as far as I can see and is a total waste of time and money.
 
Agree completely with everydayupsanddowns
 
amyc062 said:
Hello all, I am doing a project of type 2 and traffic light food labelling. How many people here look at the nutritional labels on packaging? I am aiming to find out if the new proposed front of pack, traffic light (red, amber green) labelling system will help consumers and empower them to make healthier choices. Do you think this Department of health government initiative will help reduce obesity epidemic and levels of type two diabetes which is crippling the NHS. I would love to get your thoughts.
Click to expand...


Tut, tut, tut. It might be an idea if you learned more about Type2 before you use media speak to describe Type2's. I'll give you some examples. Some people develop Type2 because of prolonged use of prescribed drugs for other complaints, steroids, anti-depressants. Some of us have a strong genetic predisposition, some of us are underweight and some take years before they are diagnosed resulting in weight gain because they cannot utilise insulin in their bodies.

As for the Traffic Light System, IMHO a complete waste of money for anyone. Unless schools are going to include nutrition in their curriculum, the problem will continue as there are many people who do not understand food labels. This is not their fault as they have never been taught. Some really smart people have no idea of healthy eating. The NHS usually tells people to eat a healthy diet so as to lose weight but you need to find out what that actually means because it can mean so many things to different people.
 
And for others genetic predisposition, poor lifestyle resulting in obesity and thence type 2 diabetes is the norm.

I was one of those people!

It is no coincidence that my diabetic symptoms have abated since I upped my exercise, modified my diet and lost the weight (I'm now down to 14st).

Interestingly, my weight topped out somewhere between 19st and 20st. However, when diagnosed, I had lost atleast 1st without realising. I can only put this down to insulin resistance because my diet and exercise habits were still pretty poor up to that point. My energy levels were also non-existant.

Andy 🙂

p.s. I've never had a problem with the traffic light system. But, I can see why it causes others problems on occasion.
 
I suspect the traffic light system is pretty useless, might as well not actually have it.

If you take the "fat" measure, it doesn't differentiate between the different types of fat. Only saturate fat is really an issue, some of the other types are actually essential oils and thus good for you.

(I wonder if cod liver oil tablets have a red traffic light?)

I read the label (ignoring the "traffic light") on pretty much everything I buy. Besides, my little boy has an allergy to vinegar (from what we can tell) and that turns up in odd places sometimes as a preservative.
 
As a T2 (with family genetics against me, but happy to accept that lifestyle probably caused earlier D than would have occurred anyway), the nutritional sid eis something that the medics cant seem to agree on, so it is no surprise that some folks get confused and give up checking.

I have been told various things to include:
Follow a low fat diet - with low fat meaning 10% fat or less
Most prople should have a plate that is half full of veg, 1/3rd carbs and 1/6 protein, but as a T2 I can swap the carb and protein potion round
Dont worry too much about carbs, just eat a balanced meal
Eat fewer carbs, but include them in every meal
Eat wholemeal rather than white (bread/pasta/rice)

The one thing I have never been advised to do is count carbs in anyway.

I have through DSN appointments, reading and this forum adopted a broadly lower carb diet, (except when running), and mostly kept the fat content sub 10%, excpet for the odd 'sod it day' of course.

If this dissertation leads to anyone becoming better educated, then it can only help, so crack on (but agree try to avoid the more tabloid headline style)

Good luck
Malc
 
I dislike the traffic light system and ignore it totally. I always read the nutrition panel and usually only look at the 'per 100g' column. I have had many arguments with Marketing people in a large food production company about the usefulness of the traffic light system and have always been amazed how company brainwashed they have been in their arguments.

I am T2 diabetic but also have stomach and other digestive problems which mean I really do need to know what I am eating most of the time. A general traffic light system means nothing to me at all. Luckily I am old enough to have gone to school at a time when we were taught in our cookery lessons how to produce a meal and be able to say which was the protein, the carbs, the fat etc, etc etc. Dietary advice for the stomach problems helped reinforce that and the dietician took me through reading the nutritional panels. I am surprised no such advice has been offered since I was diagnosed with diabetes.

To me, the traffic light system is a marketing tool for the big companies and all they are trying to do is sell more of their products. A marketing con.
 
trophywench said:
Just - Hear Hear !

The system lulls people - especially diabetic people - into a completely false sense of security IMHO.
Click to expand...

Specifically, it will be abused by marketeer who always find some justification for making a particular claim. Like the supermarket bread with the label, "Wholegrain". In fact, only 6% is whole grain the rest is refined white flour.

Bamboo splints and fingernails springs to mind.
 
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