Opposing Food Behaviors Converge Toward Health & Wellness

Opposing Food Behaviors Converge Toward Health & Wellness
by Steve French

While many of todays consumers are trying to consume more foods with positive, healthy ingredients and nutrients, many are also trying to limit certain foods due to unhealthy, fattening or allergic attributes, or other factors. At times, the sheer quantity of food a consumer would need to consume in order to get proper amounts of nutrients would be prohibitive. And many foods they enjoy eating more of may contain sugar, fat or allergens they are trying to avoid. Consumers, therefore, find themselves in the duality of an additionavoidance behavior pattern.

Research conducted by The Natural Marketing Institute (NMI) found that, in fact, almost two-thirds of consumers (63 percent) admit to adding foods to their diet in order to eat healthier, while a similar amount (66 percent) also indicate they have avoided some foods to eat healthier. The opportunities are aplenty for the food industry to stay in step with consumers evolving orientation toward health and wellness by providing solutions to both of these divergent behaviors.

Fortification

One way the food industry is trying to provide solutions is through food fortificationthe addition of a nutrient not traditionally found in the targeted food or beverage, such as adding calcium to orange juice. Fortification is not a new science and, in fact, has ancient origins dating back to 400 B.C., when a Persian physician suggested adding iron filings to wine to increase soldiers potency. Later, in the 1800s, French chemist Jean Baptiste Boussingault proposed adding iodine to salt to prevent goiter. Today, fortification encompasses both those purposes: to increase consumers consumption of potent nutrients and to ensure they are obtaining the sufficient nutrients to stay healthy and prevent disease. Usage trends indicate consumers are turning to such products in greater numbers.

Approximately two-thirds of consumers state they have used fortified foods/beverages in the past year. Higher educated and more affluent consumers are more likely to use (70 percent and 72 percent, respectively), as are consumers with children in the household. A little more than one out of 10 consumers indicate they have increased their usage in the past year. This annual increase is indicative of the growth shown in fortified food/beverage usage among the American population over the last six years (Chart 1).

While usage of fortified foods/beverages is showing steady increases, the importance of consuming them has remained rather steady over the past several years, with about a quarter of consumers (28 percent) stating that consuming fortified foods/beverages is extremely or very important in maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Whereby consumers aged 18 to 55 show consistency, there exists a dip in the importance of functional foods/beverages among 56 to 75 year olds, a group who would benefit greatly from fortified foods. Hence, an opportunity exists to focus on this consumer segment (Chart 2).

The large gap between the level of importance consumers assign to fortified foods/beverages for an overall healthy lifestyle (28 percent) and their actual usage (67 percent) indicates there may be underlying reasons for usage of fortified products besides simply overall health.

While overall health & wellness (65 percent) was the initial reason most consumers cited when asked why they first started using fortified foods/beverages, wanting to provide the best for their family (59 percent) and nutritional content (56 percent) were also at the top of the list. Fortified food/beverage use was also initiated as a preventive measure against health issues and as a treatment for certain health issues among consumers, highlighting that consumers are, indeed, making the connection between the nutritional benefit of fortified foods and improved health.

In addition, many of the current nutrient fortification efforts are an answer to consumers perceived deficiencies. As more information about the benefits of certain nutrients is disseminated to consumers, their perception of their own deficiencies is highlighted. This, in turn, typically drives the market. Three-quarters of the population (76 percent) feel they are deficient in some type of nutrient. The top nutrient deficiencies among all U.S. adults include fiber, calcium, omega-3 fatty acids and whole grains. Not surprising, these are precisely the nutrients showing up at high rates in new product launches.

For instance, omega-3s are powerhouse nutrients that are found in foods such as salmon, sardines and mackerelfoods that typically make up a small percentage of the American diet. New technologies and product formulations of omega-3 fatty acids now allow this nutrient to be more included within everyday food such as pastas, breads and dairy. Last year alone, 122 new food and beverage products were launched into the marketplace with high omega-3 content, according to NMIs Product Attribute Trend Identifier (PATI), thereby eliminating the need to consume large quantities of omega-rich fish, a food perhaps not palatable to a large number of consumers (and one high on the allergy list for many consumers).

Avoidance Behaviors

As stated previously, consumers are not only trying to add foods to their diets to be healthier, but many are also trying to eliminate certain ingredients and/or foods. While the largest percentage of consumers are trying to watch their sugar content (49 percent), limit trans fats (48 percent) and carbohydrates (39 percent) to eat healthier, there are instances where consumers must eliminate certain foods entirely from their diets due to food allergies.

A food allergy is an exaggerated immune response triggered by a specific food. Normally, the bodys immune system defends against potentially harmful substances, such as bacteria, viruses and toxins, but in some people, an immune response is triggered by a generally harmless substance. The Big Eight allergens, which must now be labeled on food products, are milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat and soybeans; these eight major food allergens are associated with 90 percent of all reported allergic reactions to foods in the United States.

Often times, food allergies are confused with food intolerance. Food allergies deal with immune response, while food intolerance is caused by a problem with the bodys ability to metabolize foods. A well-known example of a food intolerance is when the body cannot adequately digest lactose in milk or other dairy products. Therefore, while lactose intolerant people experience discomfort when they eat foods with lactose, people with food allergies have to avoid the offending foods completely.

Far more adults feel they suffer from food allergies when they actually may only be suffering from food intolerance. NMI research found 13 percent of adults (and 12 percent of children) feel they currently suffer from food allergies, when in actuality only about 2 percent of adults and 8 percent of children have real food allergies.Women (16 percent) are significantly more likely than men (9 percent) to believe they are sufferers.

While most food allergies are caused by the big eight, 43 percent of adults say they suffer allergies from some foods other than these. Is this more evidence of confusion between food allergy and food intolerance? The largest percentage of adults who suffer from food allergies indicate they are allergic to dairy and milk (24 percent) followed closely by seafood (23 percent). Children who have food allergies, on the other hand, are reported to be primarily allergic to eggs (38 percent), dairy/milk (37 percent) and peanuts (24 percent).

Perhaps not surprising, significantly more adults with a child with food allergies (27 percent) say they suffer from food allergies compared to adults without a child with food allergies (10 percent). Parents behavior, therefore, seems to reflect their consciousness. In addition, parents with children who suffer from food allergies are significantly more likely to exhibit limiting behavior of not only allergy-related foods such as pasta, wheat products and dairy, but also general food categories that may be thought of as less healthy (Chart 3).

While actions are gradually taking place to protect and advise consumers of many allergyrelated ingredients, the food industry is only beginning to react to one of the lesserknown allergens called gluten. Gluten is a mixture of plant proteins occurring in cereal grains such as corn and wheat. Gluten intolerance, also known as celiac disease, affects about 2 million in the U.S. population, and may cause damage to the gastrointestinal tract, central nervous system and other organs. The current recommended treatment is simply avoidance of glutens in foods.

Almost one out of five consumers has started buying gluten- and wheat-free foods because they feel it is better for their family, and product introductions are rapidly growing (Chart 4). Stronger attitudes are also beginning to form around the desire for glutenfree food options. A quarter of consumers want their store to carry more gluten-free foods (28 percent), with almost half of parents who have children with food allergies agreeing (48 percent). Almost a third of consumers (30 percent) wish restaurants would carry more glutenfree options, with double the number of parents with allergic children (59 percent) wanting restaurants to provide the option. (See page 67 to learn more about gluten-free foods.) Whether consumers are trying to avoid negative foods or add positive nutrients to their diet, the end result is to live healthier. Food science has, therefore, been challenged with the task of developing optimal products with less of what consumers dont want and more of what they do want. This convergence of both elimination and addition towards a healthier diet, coupled with consumers desire for tasty and convenient foods highlights opportunities for the food industry and has opened the door for whole new types of food categories throughout the supply chain.

Steve French is managing partner at The Natural Marketing Institute (NMI), a leading consultancy and research firm specializing in health and wellness. With 25 years of experience across many disciplines, French has pioneered a range of consumer databases, is a frequent speaker at many industry events, and is a published author and contributor to many U.S. and international media sources. The data sources in this article are from NMIs Health & Wellness Trends Database (HWTD), an annual research study of 2,000+ U.S. general population consumers with seven years of trends, and NMIs Dietary Supplement Consumer Insight Database (DSCID). Both studies are nationally projectable and have a margin of error of ±2 percent.