People Are Paying More Attention To Food Labels, Calorie Counts

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NEW YORK (CBSMiami) - Some people are actually paying more attention to what they eat and drink thanks to food labels and calorie counts at restaurants.

In recent years, it has become hard to avoid nutrition information. Now, new research published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine suggests all that labeling is actually paying off.

"What they found was that it did influence consumer behavior so it had some positive impacts," said Lindsay Malone, a nutritionist with the Cleveland Clinic.

Researchers analyzed 60 studies on shopping and eating habits between 1990 and 2014. They found because of nutrition labels, people ate 6.6 percent fewer calories and cut about 10 percent of the fat from their diet. They also increased the amount of vegetables they ate by 13.5 percent.

"I'm really encouraged by the increase in vegetable consumption that probably surprised me the most," said Malone.

However, when it came to other areas, like carbohydrates and protein, the review found the labels didn't make a significant impact.

The study found nutritional labels also led food manufacturers to put less trans fat and sodium in packaged foods.