Nutrient Reward

The term nutrientreward is an attempt to measure the benefit a person gains by eating a particular food product. Unlike a measure of calories, this obviously varies from person to person, making the study harder but also, in many ways, more worthwhile as it will help identify why people continue eating particular products even when they are aware that it may cause them to put on weight.

To study the nutrient reward of particular products, it is very important to research into the eating habits of people. The concept of this is that medical professionals believe that there must be a way of getting a high nutrient reward for the individual, yet at the same time lose weight, or at any rate not put on weight. They also believe that there would be a ready market for manufacturers to make such products. Indeed, some manufacturers have produced products for which the aim is to have a similar nutrient reward as the original product, yet at the same time, the individual consumes far few calories.

Because of the idiosyncrasies in the tastes of individuals, it is often impossible to make generalizations. However, to draw up a regimen by which an individual may lose weight, this is much easier. In consultation with a dietitian, a list is drawn up of products that the individual likes and how much he or she likes them. The dietitian may suggest not eating particular products, or eating them in different quantities; however, many have found it far more effective to use product substitution by which an individual can continue with much the same diet but either lose weight or not put on weight by substituting products that have a similar level of nutrient reward [Page 515]to that person in terms of flavor or texture, yet have far lower number of calories. Because dietitians have found that the changes needed to be made are often similar between individuals, this information has been passed on to manufacturers, with several major companies using this information in planning their range of products. The most readily available examples are soft drinks such as Diet Coke and Diet Pepsi. However, many companies and brand names now have a range of products including similar ones that are low sodium, low-fat, fat free, or have some health information or message displayed on the product.