Even If They Don't Improve Our Diet, Nutrition Labels Make Good Reading

When not binging on food, Americans binge on dietary theories. Most recently, we saw hordes of consumers shunning carbohydrates as if they were the nutritional embodiment of Satan. Now that extreme anti-carb mania has run its course, marketers must wait for the next great dietary obsession. In the meantime, some consumer research gives an indication of what people now care about when shopping for groceries.

Focusing on packaged foods, an Associated Press/Ipsos Public Affairs poll asked consumers to identity the first thing they look for when checking the nutritional labeling on a package.