Information that will both encourage and frustrate those interested in communicating nutrition messages to the American public can be found in the second annual IFIC Foundation’s Food & Health Survey: Consumer Attitudes toward Food, Nutrition & Health.
The research provides the opportunity to see how consumers view their own diets, their efforts to improve them, and their under¬standing of the inter-relationship between diet, physical activity, and health.
The survey of 1,000 American adults was conducted over three weeks in February and March of 2007.
Overall, Americans’ perception of their health improved, with 39 percent indicating their health as “excellent” or “very good” compared to 33 percent in 2006. In addition, more Americans (66 percent) reported making changes to improve the healthfulness of their diet compared to 57 percent in 2006.
But the survey did find areas where Americans’ desire to improve their diet and overall health did not match what they actually do on a day-to-day basis. For instance, more than half of Americans (56 percent) say they are trying to lose weight, and a majority of them say they are trying to improve the healthfulness of their diet and increase their level of physical activity. Yet, nine out of 10 Americans did not know how many calories they should consume in a day. This lack of knowledge of calories was unchanged from last year’s survey.
The conflicting findings on calories represent just one of six consumer “diet disconnects” identified in the survey. “This survey is an important snapshot highlighting the gap between Americans’ desire to have a more healthful diet and the reality of converting this desire into day-to-day behavior,” said Susan Borra, RD, IFIC Foundation President.
The “diet disconnects” revealed in the latest look at consumer attitudes on food, nutrition, and health include everything from carbohydrates and dietary fats, to how consumers link nutrition and physical health, to what they consider the most important meal of the day. “Uncovering these ‘disconnects,’ said Borra, “is the first step to really helping consumers achieve an overall healthful lifestyle.”
The other “diet disconnects” include:
Diet & Physical Activity: A clear majority of Americans (84 percent) reported being physically active, for health benefits, at least once a week. This represented a 20 percent increase over last year’s survey, although the definition of “physical activity” was broadened to include activities such as gardening and dancing, which may account for the increase. However, nearly half (44 percent) of Americans who reported being physically active said they did not “balance diet and physical activity” to manage their weight.
Breakfast: Breakfast was found to be the most important meal of the day, with 66 percent of Americans indicating the morning meal was “extremely important.” But, less than half of Americans (49 percent) reported eating breakfast every day. Dinner was second on the “extremely important” list at 43 percent, with lunch being selected by 33 percent.
Fats: Consumers’ concern about the type and amount of fats they include in their diet was significantly up from a year ago (72 percent vs. 66 percent) and they are specifically trying to consume less trans fat (78 percent in 2007 vs. 54 percent in 2006). However, consumers are apparently unclear about which fats are considered healthful. For example, Americans report trying to consume less polyunsaturated fats, one of the fats recommended for health benefits. The percentage of Americans who said they were trying to eat less polyunsaturated fats jumped from 33 percent in 2006 to 42 percent in 2007.
“Carbs”: Consumers are getting the message that certain types of carbohydrates can improve the overall healthfulness of their diet. Specifically, more than 70 percent of consumers say they are trying to consume more carbohydrates like fiber and whole grains. But more than 50 percent remain concerned with the amount of carbohydrates they consume, which is not surprising given the recent attention to fad diets that promote decreased consumption of carbohydrates.
“Functional Foods”: Consumers agree that consuming specific foods and beverages can provide health benefits beyond basic nutrition. These benefits include improving heart health (80 percent); improving digestive health (76 percent); and improving physical energy or stamina (76 percent). But more than 50 percent of Americans say they currently do not consume foods or beverages that may deliver these benefits. For instance, despite overwhelming agreement that specific foods and beverages can “improve heart health,” 58 percent of consumers said they did not consume these products.
“Since the science concerning food, nutrition, and health is continually evolving there is an ongoing need to provide clarity,” said Borra. “Our survey shows that there is an opportunity for all of us in the nutrition field to make diet information more understandable for consumers.”
The survey also included questions about consumers’ perceptions of caffeine and health. Forty-eight percent of Americans said they actively limit or are trying to limit their caffeine consumption, while 40 percent do not limit caffeine and 12 percent have eliminated caffeine from their diets. Despite this, there is some confusion over some potential benefits of caffeine. Consumers’ perceptions of whether caffeine-containing beverages can contribute to daily water intake cover the spectrum—30 percent somewhat or strongly agree, 31 percent neither agree nor disagree, and 38 percent somewhat or strongly disagree. And regarding athletic performance, 50 percent neither agree nor disagree that caffeine can enhance performance by increasing endurance and reducing muscle pain caused by strenuous physical activity.
With regard to low-calorie sweeteners, responses showed that almost half (43 percent) somewhat or strongly agree that low-calorie sweeteners can play a role in helping individuals lose or maintain weight. However, only 23 percent of those trying to lose weight and 22 percent of those trying to maintain their weight say they increased their use of low-calorie sweeteners in their efforts to do so.
The IFIC Foundation plans to continue to monitor these trends and report the results of the Food & Health Survey every one to two years.
For a PDF copy of the entire survey visit: http://www.ific.org/research/foodandhealthsurvey.cfm.
For consumer-friendly information about implementing the MyPyramid guidance visit: http://www.ific.org/publications/brochures/upload/MyPyramidBrochure.pdf.
A Calorie is a Calorie is a Calorie: It Depends on Who You Ask
While nutrition is an evolving science, health professionals, government, and nutrition scientists alike have long agreed on one thing—calories. Specifically, it has been established that 1) calories are important; 2) weight is managed based on calories consumed and calories expended; and 3) a calorie is a calorie, regardless of the source (i.e., dietary fats, carbohydrates, protein). In other words, while we know that dietary fats contain more calories per gram than carbohydrates and protein, it is the total amount of calories that an individual consumes in a day, along with the amount that they burn off, that affects the ability to maintain their weight.
In health professional circles, calories have recently taken center stage as the weight management issue has escalated. In 2004, the Food and Drug Administration released a report titled “Calories Count.” The 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans have calories as the foundation of their guidance and recommend, among other things, that individuals consume “adequate nutrients within calorie needs.” Finally, the MyPyramid food guidance system, which is based on the Dietary Guidelines, disseminates key advice to find the balance between food and physical activity for you, get the most nutrition out of your calories, and stay within your daily caloric needs.
So, given this advice, what do consumers know about the concept that excess calories, regardless of source, cause weight gain. In the 2006 IFIC Foundation Food & Health Survey, only 29 percent answered the question correctly that calories in general cause weight gain. Twenty-two percent were not sure, 26 percent thought that fats were uniquely fattening, and 20 percent thought that calories from carbohydrates were more likely to cause weight gain. Only two percent of consumers thought that protein was the culprit in weight gain. This question was trended in 2007. Findings indicated that the concept that a calorie is a calorie had not yet reached consumers, with 29 percent saying fats, 18 percent carbohydrates, one percent protein, and 20 percent unsure about what causes weight gain. Only 31 percent correctly stating that excess calories in general cause weight gain.
