2008 Food & Health Survey – Some Surprising Finds
May 21, 2008 by GiGi
Welcome back!
I was asked to attend the webcast results for the IFIC (International Food Information Council) 2008 Survey on Food and Health Safety.
I think this is their 4th year doing the survey. The webcast will be available next month on their website – IFIC as well as the full survey results.
It’s kind of interesting what we Americans (as a group) think: Apparently, there’s a big diet disconnect between what we SAY we want to do and what we ACTUALLY do. (No surprise there!)
67% think that reading about food and health is interesting
45% are confused about all the conflicting reports they see (count me as part of that group!)
85% cannot estimate how many calories they should be consuming (who wants to count calories?)
44% are NOT trying to balance diet with exercise (Yikes!)
Only 44% are aware that low calorie sweetners can be part of a calorie reduction diet (um..excuse me here…I actually emailed them a question about low calorie sweetners and all the dangerous stuff we’ve been hearing about them, but it didn’t get answered. Then I went on their website and read their article from 2004 on artificial sweetners that basically said all the aspartames and saccharins have been thoroughly tested and deemed safe by the FDA and we should trust the FDA….enough said)
Fats:
70% were concerned with the fats in their diet, yet only 28% understood that polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats were healthy fats and even fewer knew where to find them in their diet. (fish oils, nuts, plant oils – like avocados, olive oil)
Sugar:
71% think a moderate amount of sugar is okay for a healthy diet (double yikes! What’s a moderate amount?)
The top influencer in purchasing food is taste – 85%. The perception is that healthy eating is not tasty eating.
77% believe that breakfast is important, yet only 46% are actually eating it.
Generally speaking, families that eat together – eat healthier.
There were some more topics covered such as food safety and nutrition tools. You can read the whole report at IFIC
In conclusion, they all agreed that better communication about food and nutrition to the general public is needed. I whole heartedly agree!
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Lots of interesting info here. The fats thing isn’t too surprising. I know a lot of people just see fats as being all bad. The perception that healthy eating is not tasty is also not too much of a shock to me. However, the reality is that as you get used to it you do start to enjoy eating tasty foods and unhealthy foods start to become a lot less appealing.
True enough, Tom. I remember the last time I had fries thinking “Gee, these taste like cardboard”. Not sure if it was my healthy eating habits or massive amounts of guilt swaying my taste buds.
The fats thing isn’t too surprising. I know a lot of people just see fats as being all bad. The perception that healthy eating is not tasty is also not too much of a shock to me.Not sure if it was my healthy eating habits or massive amounts of guilt swaying my taste buds
I know a lot of people just see fats as being all bad. The perception that healthy eating is not tasty is also not too much of a shock to me.Not sure if it was my healthy eating habits or massive amounts of guilt swaying my taste buds
Nice blog!!!! Very good survey…..People find difficult to maintain a balanced diet…They are very much interested in reading the article, but to follow the word is quite difficult….It is a true fact that, families that eat together – eat healthier…Thanks!!