Nutrition series: Survey results on American consumer attitudes toward food, nutrition, health

Dr. Ida Laquatra, Global Director of Nutrition for HJ Heinz Company, recently provided excellent information regarding nutrition and healthy living.  Thus begins a 3-article series regarding this topic. 

 Just a few months ago, the HJ Heinz Company took a telephone survey of 1,000 American adults regarding attitudes toward food, nutrition and health.  Following are the very interesting and eye-opening results... ***

 Survey Fact Sheet

Quick and simple: 40% of Americans said they look for quick and convenient meals after a hard day's work.*

This is surprising following research conducted by the International Food Information Council (IFIC) in 2009 that found:

• taste rated highest for impact on consumer food or beverage purchase decision (87%)
• price was next (74%)
• then healthfulness (61%)
• and convenience rate lowest (52%)

This suggests that the kind of day a person is having greatly impacts their food choices. **

More findings:

• Only 24% of people list healthy or low-fat meals as a priority after a long day, compared to 40% who just want something quick and easy...
• Only 17% of Americans care whether a meal is tasty at the end of a long day, with 40% picking dinner based on convenience.
• After a tough day, men are more likely to choose a meal that is both tasty and filling while women seek something that's healthy and convenient to prepare.

Just the facts: 4/5 (78%) of Americans want clearer to read nutritional information and ingredient list on the back of food products.

Back to basics: Nearly 57% of American would eat more fruit and vegetables to improve their diets, while only 17% would eat low fat foods, 27% would reduce calories and 28% would eat less sodium.

Americans are realizing that a well-balanced diet is integral to overall health and wellness and that adding more to healthful foods like fruits and vegetables, can be a positive strategy to help reach their goals.

 

*A Note on Methodology: The HJ Heinz Company commissioned StrategyOne to conduct a nationwide telephone omnibus study of 1,000 Americans 18 years of age and older (balanced to census information to be projectable to the US population).  A Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI) facility and Random Digit Dialing (RDD) technology were used.  Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region, and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the general population.  The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.2 at the 95% level of confidence, which means that 95 out of 100 times that sample s drawn, the results would not vary more than 2.2 percentage points in either direction.   

** 2009 Food & Health Survey: Consumer attitudes toward Food, Nutrition & Health; international Food information Council Foundation, March, 2009.

 *** Adapted from information provided courtesy of Dr. Ida Laquatra and HJ Heinz Company.

Picture by mashe, PhotoXpress

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