BATTLE CREEK, MICH. — Nearly 85% of consumers mistakenly believe foods with whole grain labels provide a good or excellent source of dietary fiber, but a new study shows whole-grain foods do not always provide as much fiber as consumers expect.

“The good news is consumers continue to look for ways to increase the amount of fiber in their diets,” said Betsy Hornick, lead author of a three-part series on ‘The Fiber Deficit’ appearing in Nutrition Today. “The bad news is many consumers mistakenly believe all whole grain foods provide the added fiber they are looking for. But just because a food has a ‘whole grain’ label does not necessarily mean that it is a good source of fiber.”

The study published in Nutrition Today found fiber content varied widely in whole grain products.

“Americans can increase their intake of fiber by making informed choices when it comes to the foods they eat,” said DeAnn Liska, senior director of nutrition science at Kellogg Co. and the series co-author. “One way they can do this is ‘flip to the fiber,’ or study the nutrition guidelines on labels to make sure those foods are at least a ‘good’ source of fiber, providing 3 grams or more.”