The FDA seems to have concluded that labels on food packages must be too hard for people to understand since a lot of us are getting fat — or fatter. So, in true big-government style, the FDA wants to impose new labeling requirements.

Nutritionists and other health experts have their own wish list for label changes.

The number of calories should be more prominent, they say, and the amount of added sugar and percentage of whole wheat in the food should be included. They also want more clarity on serving sizes.

“There’s a feeling that nutrition labels haven’t been as effective as they should be,” says Michael Jacobson of the Center for Science in the Public Interest. “When you look at the label, there are roughly two dozen numbers of substances that people aren’t intuitively familiar with.”

For example, he says, most of the nutrients are listed in grams, a basic unit of the metric system. Jacobson says people don’t really understand what a gram is.

I don’t doubt that folks may not understand grams. But folks DO understand that 20 grams is more than 1 gram. What is amusing is that the advocates for more labeling are unwilling to accept that most people DO understand that some foods are high in calories and fats and simply eat them anyway because they taste good. Maintaining a healthy weight isn’t rocket science. Unless someone has a special physical issue or ailment, the basics apply.

So how about putting this on every label:

Eat more calories than your body uses and you will gain weight.