Less than half of Americans consider their diet to be healthy
According to new research from Mintel, less than half (42%) of Americans consider their diet to be healthy.
According to new research from Mintel, less than half (42%) of Americans consider their diet to be healthy. Indeed, less than two in five (38%) consumers agree that healthy foods are worth the added expense and just 44% pay attention to serving sizes. Americans also generally appear to be largely distrusting of food brands as only 14% believe regulatory approval indicates a food is healthy and just 16% trust the health claims on food and beverage packages. What’s more, a mere one quarter (23%) of consumers agree that the Dietary Guidelines for Americans are good for them.
“Despite the fact that we’re seeing such a widespread and growing interest in healthy foods, relatively few Americans believe their diet is healthy,” said Billy Roberts, senior food and drink analyst at Mintel. “With consumers largely wary of even regulator-approved health food options, marketing healthy foods to skeptical consumers requires far more than merely an on-pack promise. The key to attracting these consumers is convincing them that products actually deliver on the healthy attributes they promise and that they are truly good for consumers and their families.”
Today’s health-conscious consumers are staying away from products containing high-fructose corn syrup (50%), sugar (47%), trans fat (45%), and saturated fat (43%). What’s more, 28% believe a food is unhealthy if it has artificial ingredients, with consumers actively avoiding products with elements described as “artificial,” such as artificial sweeteners (43%), artificial preservatives (38%), and artificial flavors (35%).
While genetically modified (GM) appears farther down on the list of ingredients consumers avoid when shopping for healthy foods (29%), consumer dislike of GM foods nearly matches their dislike for foods with artificial ingredients. More than one in five (22%) Americans say that they would not feed GM foods to people in their household. What’s more, nearly half (46%) agree that GM foods are not suitable to eat, increasing to 58% of consumers with a household income under $50,000.
Well ahead of other ingredients, consumers are interested in protein (63%), fiber (61%), and whole grains (57%) when purchasing foods they consider to be healthy. Protein is particularly of interest to more than half (54%) of iGen consumers (aged 9–21), while consumers aged 71 and older are most interested in whole grains (50%). What’s more, 32% percent of Americans overall agree that foods with a “natural” claim are good for their health and 33% plan to buy more vegetarian/plant-based food products in the next year.