NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) – The US Food and Drug Administration wants to move the nutrition labels you normally see on the back of your food to the front.

As a diabetic, Debbie Helm examines nutrition labels.

Helm said, “I’m always looking at the carbs and the sugars, and I think it would be great to put them on the front.”

Chris Flatt also takes a closer look at his food.

“I do, it is important for not only my health but for the future.”

He told WSMV heart disease and diabetes runs in his family. That extra step of looking at what’s in his food could save him money in the long run.

“Stay out the hospital, stay healthy and not become a statistic,” Flatt said.

The FDA said the change is an effort to fight what they’re calling a chronic disease crisis in America.

But Flatt understands not everyone looks at the labels.

“I think they’re more focused on price on this point, and if they are able to connect the dots between what’s going in them versus what’s coming out of their wallet, they might be able to make a better-informed decision,” said Flatt.

In addition to moving the label to the front. The new label would say whether a food has a low, medium or high level of saturated fat, sodium and added sugar. Those three items are linked to chronic diseases, according to the FDA.

FDA Commissioner Robert M. Califf, M.D., said in a statement released on Tuesday, “The science on saturated fat, sodium and added sugars is clear…It is time we make it easier for consumers to glance, grab and go.”

Helm thinks it would help people be more mindful about what they’re putting into their bodies.

“People would see it and notice it, and maybe before they never even looked at it,” Helm said. “But they would have to now.”

If the change is approved, most food companies will have three years to implement the change.

In a statement released on Tuesday, the FDA said, “The proposed rule, if finalized, would require food manufacturers to add a Nutrition Info box to most packaged food products three years after the final rule’s effective date for businesses with $10 million or more in annual food sales and four years after the final rule’s effective date for businesses with less than $10 million in annual food sales.”

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