Consumer habits have changed significantly in the last eight years, according to a new market report titled ‘Diet, Health and Obesity in the UK: State of the Nation 2012’, produced by Leatherhead Food Research.
It compares perceptions and attitudes now to diet, health and obesity to the behaviours and opinions from a similar survey carried out in 2004.
The key findings are:
· Changing consumer habits over last eight years; these have resulted in family meal times and cooking from scratch becoming more important
· Healthy eating shows signs of becoming more diverse compared to 2004 ideals
· Being overweight is a key concern for consumers and their families, but obesity is still low on everyone’s agenda
· Although fat is still seen as the main contributor to an unhealthy diet, fewer consumers now admit to eating ‘good for you’ product ranges over this period
· Across nearly all categories reviewed, diet and health-related claims on products are gradually in decline
· Manufacturers are viewed as more important than the UK Government in tackling the obesity problem in future years
The survey reveals that more than 80% of consumers in 2012 claimed to follow a healthy diet, an increase of 10% since 2004.
Furthermore, compared to 2004, there is a broader level of understanding towards what constitutes a 'healthy' diet, which now includes a greater emphasis on factors such as eating fresh fruit and vegetables (95% see this as important in 2012), having a balanced diet (87% in 2012) and drinking enough fluid (74% in 2012). These are increases since 2004 of 20%, 24% and 26% respectively.
A higher intake of oily fish and a diet low in salt and sugar are factors that have also increased in importance since the previous research in 2004.
At the other end of the scale, there is also a change in what is perceived as unhealthy.
Unsurprisingly, fat is still perceived as the main contributor to an unhealthy diet (in both 2004 and 2012, around two-thirds of consumers believed too much fat in the diet was unhealthy); however consumers now possess a more diverse opinion of unhealthy foods.
Consumers are also placing more importance on dietary factors such as too much carbohydrate – 19% of consumers in 2004 as against 45% in 2012 – and not drinking enough fluid – 18% of consumers in 2004 against 43% in 2012.
Laura Kempster, senior analyst in Leatherhead's Sensory, Consumer and Market Research department said: "Broadly speaking, this research indicates a greater engagement with our health and the food we consume.
“According to Leatherhead’s findings, a greater proportion of consumers now, compared to 2004, find time to cook from scratch, exercise and are generally more informed and engaged with food.
“This presents numerous opportunities for the food and beverage industry to create products that meet these needs; and our new report will help them to identify and exploit these opportunities."
Health is a key focus of the report, which says it represents a continuing priority for both the UK Government and the food and drink industry.
The chosen approach by Government is to work with consumers on improving and educating diet and health while the efforts of food manufacturers have largely been centred upon reformulation and lowering the salt, fat and sugar content of foods.
Many leading brands are also highlighting perceived positives such as use of natural ingredients and functional health benefits.
As far as consumers are concerned, while health is a consideration for many, the key priorities continue to be heavily skewed towards taste and price.
“Healthy products are of high interest to consumers currently and these needs manifest in a diverse number of ways,” said Kempster. “The nutritional properties of food and drink are becoming ever-more important, as is the desire for information to be clear and easily understandable on pack labels.”
This section of the market report looks at the range of health-related topics; obesity, salt, fat and sugar levels, education and personal responsibility as well as food availability and affordability.
The consumer perceptions recorded in the report are the result of findings from an extensive online questionnaire of 1,819 UK consumers using Leatherhead’s own SenseReach questionnaire tool.
In 2012, over 70% of consumers claimed to feel at least moderately healthy, while their top individual concern was being overweight.
However, their main health concern for partners was stress and with children it was tooth decay.
In their attitudes to food groups, too much fat featured strongly throughout the questionnaire as the major element of a bad diet.
Kempster said: “Evidence from the survey suggests that a greater percentage of consumers are now eating fewer of the ‘good for you’ options available in supermarkets.
“This suggests that more people are increasingly looking beyond simply reducing their fat intake in a bid to improve their diets, in keeping with higher levels of understanding of healthy eating in general.”
Messages surrounding the permitted daily level of salt have begun to filter through to consumers in 2012, with a higher proportion identifying the 6g daily limit (37% against 18% in 2004).
On the subject of obesity, the report showed that while a greater number of consumers report obesity as a general concern (93% in 2012 against 78% in 2004), fewer report obesity as a main concern for themselves and their immediate family.
Said Kempster: “While the vast majority (over 90%) felt people needed to take personal responsibility over the issue, over 50% in 2012 felt food manufacturers should bear some responsibility towards the obesity problem in the UK, while over 60% also saw parents as culpable.”
Leatherhead Report
The 100-page market report ‘Diet, Health and Obesity in the UK: State of the Nation 2012’ is available from Leatherhead Food Research, priced £3,250 + VAT for non-members and £2,500 + VAT for members. Visit www.leatherheadfood.com/diet-health-obesity for more details, or contact publications@leatherheadfood.com.