Joanna Cosgrove10.01.08
Dietary Disconnects
IFIC’s Food & Health Survey uncovers some surprising findings related to American consumers’ dietary beliefs and practices.
By
Joanna Cosgrove
Online Editor
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The survey didn’t poll consumers about their food concerns, rather it posed general questions around diet, physical activity and meal behavior, as well as specific questions about dietary fats, carbohydrates and functional foods and beverages. “There haven’t been that many significant shifts among consumer attitudes over the last three years, however, when asked questions around food safety, some interesting findings were revealed,” commented Wendy Reinhardt Kapsak, MS, RD, and director, health and nutrition for IFIC. “More than three-quarters of Americans (82%) say they are confident about their ability to safely prepare foods, yet few enact simple measures like using separate cutting boards for raw meat and produce or using a meat thermometer to ensure meat is safely cooked.”
The second dietary disconnect was the issue of counting calories. “Nearly seven out of 10 Americans say they are trying to lose weight to improve the healthfulness of their diet,” said Ms. Kapsak. “In terms of losing weight, only 15% know the amount of calories they should consume. What’s interesting about this finding is the disconnect: people want to lose weight but as it relates to the information they look at on nutrition panels, only 15% of people know how to use the information they see.”
The third disconnect focused on diet and physical activity. “Seventy percent of Americans report being physically active in an effort to lose or maintain their weight, but only 44% actually said they balance their diet and physical activity,” commented Ms. Kapsak. “People don’t necessarily get the idea of ‘energy balance’ of calories in, calories out message.”
The notion of breakfast comprised the fourth disconnect. “Ninety-two percent of those surveyed agree that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but less than half (46%) report actually eating breakfast everyday,” said Ms. Kapsak, who added that this disconnect is a ripe opportunity for food manufacturers. “There are so many health benefits associated with breakfast and food manufacturers and retail establishments are trying to fill that breakfast gap with on-the-go type options, but people aren’t necessarily taking advantage of them. Ingredient and food manufacturers have a great opportunity to fill the breakfast gap and deliver healthful solutions that are both convenient and taste great.
“In addition, communication around the benefits of breakfast and how to overcome consumer barriers is also imperative,” she continued. “It’s not enough to provide just the food—if that were the case, everyone would eat breakfast. We did message testing related to breakfast foods and people feel like they have to eat the food right away because it’s breakfast. They don’t consider that you don’t have to put on your bunny slippers, eat breakfast and go to work in that order.”
Dietary fat was another area of confusion. Consumers surveyed expressed concern about both the types and the amounts of fat in their diet, especially as it related to trans fat. “Communications around saturated and trans fat have been successful, however, more than 60% don’t understand that there are more healthful fats like unsaturated and polyunsaturated fats,” said Ms. Kapsak. “Consumers have heard all of our ‘don’t’ messages, but consumers could now benefit from hearing more about the ‘do’ messages on dietary fats.”
She also noted that when asked about the foods they thought were most healthful in terms of dietary fats, consumers mentioned whole foods first. “Communications that mention healthful fats and their food sources, as opposed to their ingredients only, would best serve consumers in increasing their knowledge about healthful fats,” she said.
Fiber was the sixth issue discussed in the survey. “Consumers are still clamoring for healthy carbohydrates, specifically whole grains and fibers,” said Ms. Kapsak. “More than two-thirds of American consumers say they are trying to consume more whole grains and fiber.”
She added that for food manufacturers, it’s not too late to capitalize on the whole grains and fiber phenomenon—but it must be done wisely. “Consumers are very savvy—adding fiber to just anything is not necessarily helpful, but increasing the fiber content of previously perceived healthful foods is a good idea,” she said.
The final dietary disconnect revolved around foods and beverages with added benefits. The result revealed a real opportunity for food and ingredient suppliers to step up the dialogue they currently have with consumers regarding health benefits. “We looked at 10 benefits (maintaining overall health and wellness, improving heart and digestive health, etc.),” said Ms. Kapsak. “Consumers believe in this concept and the diet and health relationship; and those that have been around the longest, such as the heart disease and diet connection, are the ones consumers have the most agreement about. That told us that continued communication about specific benefits is important to increasing consumer awareness.
“But the disconnect here,” she added, “is that if 80% agree certain foods contribute to heart health, only 40% of those are actually consuming those foods, though they are interested in doing so. It’s not enough to complete a product introduction and stop. Continuous communication with consumers on diet and health relationships is a must.”
In addition to divulging the seven dietary disconnects, the survey also examined factors that influenced food purchase decisions. “Taste” is still king, with “price,” “healthfulness” and “convenience” following closely behind. “From 2006 to 2007, there was an increase in the number of consumers placing healthfulness as a purchase decision and it related to the offset in purchase price,” explained Ms. Kapsak. “People will continue to look for healthful foods that taste great, help them fill a gap (in terms of convenience) whether they’re at home or on the go. Because consumers are concerned about their economic situation, we expect to see price increase as a factor that influences purchase decisions. Secondly, as in recent months, consumers appear to be eating at home more often to decrease their food budget. As a result, manufacturers have an even greater opportunity to capitalize on healthful and convenient foods that taste great that consumers can prepare at home and provide value to their families.”
In summary, the 2008 Food & Health Survey showed that American consumers are extremely interested in information related to food and health, however, they are often confused with the info that’s provided. “Consumers need help in their quest to achieve a healthful diet and manufacturers are poised to provide healthful solutions,” Ms. Kapsak concluded.
For more information on this study, log on to IFIC’s website: http://www.ific.org/research/foodandhealthsurvey.cfm.
