As the number of overweight and obese adults in the U.S. has continued to increase significantly, the International Food Information Council Foundation embarked on research to gain insight into how adults feel about food, nutrition and body weight, and what they were doing to manage their own weight. Through this research, we were able to get inside consumers’ heads and get a better handle on what they were thinking and feeling concerning their weight. The International Food Information Council Foundation did this by conducting extensive qualitative research to find out how consumers think and feel about their health, weight and weight management. We also set out to find which nutrition messages were relevant, meaningful and motivating to trigger and sustain a change in lifestyle and behavior.
Here’s what consumers told us:
- Lifestyle demands are overwhelming—there is no time for healthier options
- They believe that good health is important, but not as important as other things in their lives
- Most can distinguish the difference between a healthy lifestyle and an unhealthy lifestyle
- Many believe that they have a lifestyle that is not unhealthy, but not entirely healthy either
- Although health may be important to most consumers, most of the time they find healthy food inconvenient
- Consumers said that the key motivators to live a healthier lifestyle are appearance, family, preventing future health problems, and support
- Eating a healthy diet and exercising regularly doesn’t show immediate results and it is easier to get discouraged
If consumers are aware of the benefits of healthy eating, why aren’t more people doing it? The answer is that they just don’t (or can’t) stick to a healthy diet and incorporate physical activity on a regular basis. One way to reach consumers about weight management is using motivators that inspire change.
What types of messages do consumers want? They said that they need positive, actionable and convenient tips on how to incorporate what they already know into their lives.
Here is a sample of messages that were tested and qualitative responses:
“We all change as we age. Stay healthy and feel good by adjusting your exercise and eating habits.”
- “Relevant information but…not motivating, even depressing. This is what we’ve been saying. I’m 34, but I’m already looking to 40 thinking my metabolism is going to drop even more than it already has. It’s scary.” (Female, Chicago)
“Your family needs you to take care of you. Everyone benefits when you invest a few minutes to eat right, exercise and relax.”
- “Gets to the core of what is important but… difficult to put into practice. I feel like I can’t take time for me until everything else is done. But, everything else is never really done.” (Female, Baltimore)
“Take just a few minutes to plan for healthy eating and physical activity in your busy schedule. This small investment in time helps you start—and stick with—making healthier choices for you and your family”
- “Realistic and attainable but…difficult to stay the course. The “stick with” aspect is what stood out for me. My problem is I can start anything. Sticking with it is my hardest thing.” (Female, Chicago)
What we found in these focus groups is while consumers claim to know how to be physically active and engage in healthy eating, they lack motivation and skills to convert this knowledge into action and sustainable behavior change. Consumers said that they need to be ready to make a change. These findings indicate that no single message works for everyone; messages must be targeted and individualized. Consumers also told us that the best way to motivate them is to have positive, actionable and convenient tips on how to incorporate what they already know into their busy lives. They need motivators that inspire change. Messages must be relevant and realistic, with the ability to reach consumers on a personal level. With the findings from these focus groups, it is clear that health professionals need to listen to what consumers are saying regarding weight management and incorporating changes into their busy lives.
