Confusion over health and nutrition despite 1 in 3 Americans dieting, survey shows

28 May 2018 --- One-third of Americans follow a diet, with intermittent fasting proving the most popular and consumers desire organic, natural and sustainable products, the 13th Annual Food and Health Survey has found. The survey released by the International Food Information Council (IFIC) also identified that the top health aspiration is cardiovascular, but consumer’s exhibit confusion over what foods to eat to achieve this.

Dieting’s continuing popularity
The top dieting plan cited in the survey was intermittent fasting. Low-carb diets were also well-represented including paleo, Whole30, high-protein and ketogenic. Furthermore, younger

consumers (aged 18 to 34) were more likely to follow a specific eating pattern or diet than those aged 35 and above.

Carbohydrates and sugars were ranked high on the “blame” list for weight gain, demonstrating an increase from the 2017 survey. While sugars continue to be the most cited cause of weight gain at 33 percent, carbohydrates ranked second at 25 percent, up from 20 percent in 2017. Fats, protein and “all sources”, however, lagged behind when placing blame.

Cardiovascular health
According to IFIC, almost all consumers showed interest in getting specific health benefits from food or nutrients. This year, 20 percent ranked cardiovascular health as their top desired benefit, followed by weight loss or weight management at 18 percent and energy at 13 percent.

However, consumers exhibited high levels of confusion over how to achieve these desired health benefits. For example, only 38 percent were able to name a food type that they would seek out to help with their top health concern.

“This dietary disconnect – the inability to connect specific foods and nutrients to desired health outcomes – illustrates the need for stronger, clearer, nutrition education based on the best available evidence,” says Joseph Clayton, CEO of the IFIC Foundation.

“Organic,” “natural” and “sustainable” prove popular
“Food values” continued their growth as a factor in consumers’ decision-making, found the survey, with “organic” being increasingly important for purchasing choice. When shopping for foods and beverages, 29 percent of consumers buy products labeled “organic.” This was up from 25 percent in the 2017 survey.

Similarly, 37 percent of shoppers bought foods and beverages billed as “natural,” up from 31 percent in 2017, and 26 percent of consumers ate at restaurants with “natural” food and beverage options compared to 23 percent in 2017.

The importance of sustainability in food production also loomed larger in 2018, with 59 percent of consumers saying it is important that the foods they purchase and consume are produced in a sustainable way, jumping up from 50 percent in 2017.

Consumers adverse to the “artificial”
In the survey, US consumers displayed adversity toward artificial ingredients when compared to alternatives. When asked to choose between two versions of the same product – an older one that included artificial ingredients and a newer version that did not – seven in 10 chose the product with no artificial ingredients, while one-third picked the one containing artificial ingredients.

Trust in government agencies grows
Both last year and this year the survey asked consumers to rate the sources that they get information about food and nutrition from and how much they trust these sources.

Among the 14 sources listed, government agencies recorded the biggest increases in both measures. In 2018, 19 percent of consumers said they often get such information from a government agency, nearly double the 11 percent in 2017, and 38 percent said they trust government agencies as an information source, up from 25 percent in 2017. Such agencies include the USDA, EPA, FDA and CDC.

Friends/family and healthcare professionals tied at 30 percent as the most relied-upon sources of information. However, levels of trust were higher for healthcare professionals.

“Consumers continue to rely heavily on nutrition information sources they admit they don’t trust,” says Alexandra Lewin-Zwerdling, Vice President for Research and Partnerships at the IFIC Foundation. “This may speak to the public confusion we have consistently found on topics of nutrition and food safety.”

The reality of consumer diets do not match recommendations
The survey identified that although consumers do exhibit knowledge over what they should eat, the reality of what is put on their plates often doesn’t align.

USDA’s “MyPlate” recommends that our plates should be about half fruits and vegetables, with the rest of the plate divided up by grains (half of which should be whole grains) and protein, with dairy represented by a separate circle next to the plate. When consumers were asked which foods they believed should fill our plates they were on the mark with expert recommendations, with vegetables (30 percent) and fruits (21 percent), while protein (29 percent) and grains (20 percent) made up the balance. 

However, the survey found that in reality, the consumers filled their plates with nutrients that diverged from the recommendations. In reality, protein led the way at 38 percent, followed by vegetables (29 percent), grains (21 percent) and fruits (12 percent). About half (48 percent) said they include dairy often or always; only 2 percent said they never include dairy products.

This year's survey seems to show an American consumer that is concerned with health and nutrition but faces a confusing reality of conflicting opinions and news-sources. The results arguably call for a more united-front for public education on nutrition, food and health.

The results are derived from an online survey of 1,009 Americans ages 18 to 80. IFIC state that the results were weighted to ensure that they were reflective of the American population, as seen in the 2017 Current Population Survey. Specifically, they were weighted by age, education, gender, race/ethnicity and region. The survey was conducted by Greenwald & Associates, using ResearchNow’s consumer panel.