If you have ever read a nutrition facts label, you have probably seen the “serving size” listed right at the top. But do you know where that number comes from? (Hint, not an independent third party.) It’s actually the manufacturers themselves. Buy a big packaged muffin in the store and chances are the serving size is half a muffin. Check the cookies. The serving size is probably one or two. It’s not just junky foods either. I checked my package of alfalfa sprouts. One serving is supposedly 2/3 of the entire package. Now, I love my sprouts, but I’m lucky to get a small handful on a sandwich or salad.

So why is this an issue? Well, if you haven’t heard there’s an obesity epidemic going on in the United States. We don’t get enough exercise. We don’t eat enough fruits and vegetables. We sit too much. We eat too much food we don’t bother to make ourselves. We eat a lot of stuff out of boxes and packages. Probably most important, many Americans don’t really know how to nourish ourselves and balance out our eating.

Weight management is multifaceted. But when it comes to the purpose of nutrition facts labels, it’s all about educating the consumer about how much food, calories, and nutrients are in a realistic serving. So recently, the FDA has said they need to look at what they can do to help people manage how much they eat and make sure they aren’t confused by the information provided.

What do you look at when you pick up a bag or box of food at the grocery store? Chances are, if you don’t take a look at the nutrition facts label, you may end up buying stuff that’s nutritionally bankrupt.

Watch this video comparing cereal choices and find out what really matters on that label.

How come someone hasn’t thought of this diet tool before? TwoFoods is a free website application that allows you to compare two foods at once to determine which one better fits into your eating plan.

For instance, you can compare a McDonald’s grilled chicken salad to Panera’s grilled chicken Caesar salad, to find that the McDonald’s version is a better choice; or you can compare generic potato chips against Baked Lays and receive a complete nutritional analysis of calories, fat, carbs and protein grams.

Clearly no one signs up for an eating contest of any kind with the goal of minding their portion sizes. For participants in the Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest, an annual 4th of July event, the more you eat the better. Each year two men continually beat the rest of the contestants and battle it out for the infamous hot dog title.

We all know that whatever is in a hot dog is questionable, but do you think Joey Chestnut, of the U.S., and Takeu Kobayashi, of Japan, have ever stopped to read the food label on their pile of hot dogs? We think not. The folks at CalorieLab did the math and calculated exactly what the nutritional aftermath looks like when you eat 66 hot dogs on 66 buns (the total consumed by Chestnut in the 2007 event).

I may be a health enthusiast but when it comes to ice cream (soft-serve only) all of my health credos melt off the cone. So when a few days ago I saw a commercial for Wendy’s new twisted Frosties, I had to investigate exactly what these new creamy treats were and how I could fit them into my daily caloric budget.

If you haven’t seen the ads yet, Wendy’s has just launched two new flavors to their usual Frosty menu: Frosty-cino and Coffee Toffee Twisted Frosty (try saying that eight times in a row!). As I was doing my search, I didn’t realize that Wendy’s sports a frozen ice cream line that rivals Dairy Queen. From the traditional Frosty, that as a kid I eagerly spooned up, to their newly added frosties including vanilla, strawberry, M & M’s, Nestle Toll House Cookie Dough, and Oreo, the list was much heftier than I remembered as a young girl.