Eleven percent to 15%. There has been a four percentage point increase in one year in the number of people who could correctly estimate the daily calorie intake level that is right for them, according to a new survey released this week by the International Food Information Council (IFIC). A jump of over 25% in a single year. Fantastic! But let’s look at it another way. If we continue at this rate, it will be 21 years – or 2029 – before all Americans know what is the appropriate calorie level for them. 

Obviously, we have to find ways get more people to clue in to their calorie needs – and soon. Armed with this personalized information, people can better reach calorie balance by adjusting their calorie intake to match the number of calories their body burns. Calorie balance is important for maintaining a healthy body weight. Yet, according to the IFIC study, even among people who report being physically active, 44% are not even trying to balance diet and physical activity to manage their weight. 

So let’s just accept that it is easy to calculate a person’s daily calorie needs. (Not! We’ll talk about the challenges with calorie assessment on this site in the future. Even the calculator we provide on the Stand Up & Eat web site will only give you a rough estimate.) How DO we get people to know what is their daily calorie limit is?

• Should it be calculated at every doctor visit?
• Provided on each child’s report card?
• Should a formula be put on YouTube (it’s already there, but not all the methods provided are accurate so beware) or blared across the evening news?
• How about a Super Bowl ad that tells people how to find out their personal calorie level?

What are your ideas of making Americans more calorie literate a lot sooner than 2029?