An often neglected practice in healthy living is the failure by some consumers to scrutinize and understand nutrition labels when buying food products from supermarkets and grocery stores.

The basic guideline is to opt for healthy food items since these are beneficial to overall well-being.

A useful tip from Fit Day is to focus on six categories to acquire a better awareness of what to look for in nutrition stickers.

These are basically the serving size, nutritional facts panel, calories and calories from fat, nutrients, daily value percentage and important footnotes.

Time magazine cited a study from the University of Minnesota to determine the type of information that people search for before eventually deciding to buy a specific food item.

A total of 203 respondents were surveyed and researchers learned that there was a big difference between what the eye tracker indicated people looked at and what participants claimed they actually looked for while shopping.

The survey results showed the following: 33 percent said they almost always looked at a commodity's calorie content on the nutrition facts label, 31 percent stated they looked at total fat content, 24 percent revealed they studied the sugar content while 26 percent asserted they paid careful attention to serving size.

Most medical experts strongly suggest that reading and placing value on a nutrition label is a big advantage to all consumers.

One of the principal objectives of Food Standards Australia New Zealand is to ensure that there is adequate information relating to food to allow consumers in making informed choices.

The label should help select healthier foods and plan nutritious meals for the entire family.

Fit Day said the ability to choose foods that are "higher in fiber and whole grains, lower in cholesterol and calorie intake, and moderate in carbohydrate counts is an important skill. Serving size, number of servings per container or package, calories, fat, carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins, and minerals make a difference for healthy eating."

Healthy eating habits and good nutrition values demand discipline. Knowing what to look for on a nutrition label adds value to the decision-making process. Statistics also demonstrate that portions and serving sizes have the greatest effect on weight loss and obesity.