Consumer Attitudes on Food and Nutrition

America has experienced a unique past year, with the historic election of Barack Obama as its president and an ongoing economic recession. In addition, the scientific information on health and food seems to change every other week, especially dietary guidance from authorities, and  food safety crises have riddled the consumer psyche with worry. The International Food Information Councils (IFIC) latest survey, The 2009 Food & Health Survey: Consumer Attitudes toward Food, Nutrition & Health, sheds some light on how American consumers are approaching this new era, including how they perceive their own diets, their efforts to improve their nutrition, their understanding of the food components in their diets, and safe food preparation.

Overall, Americans are as satisfied with their health as they were in 2007, with 58 percent indicating they are extremely satisfied or somewhat satisfied. In fact, 37 percent indicated  their health is excellent or very good, while  44 percent described  their health as good.

Surprisingly, on weight management, slightly fewer 2009 respondents (70 percent vs. 75 percent) said they are concerned with their weight, although just more than half (53 percent) admitted to currently trying to lose weight. Unfortunately, compared to prior years, fewer consumers (11 percent) know the correct average calorie intake, with more consumers (47 percent) overestimating the number of recommended daily calories. The good news is 79 percent reported changing the types of food they eat, and 60 percent said they now try to eat less food.

On specific components of the diet, 67 percent of those surveyed are concerned with how much fat they consume, with almost the same number (69 percent) wary of the types of fat they consume. Trans fat is still a popular concern, with 90 percent reporting awareness of this type of harmful fat; however, while more than half mind the trans fat info on nutrition labels and almost two-thirds are trying to reduce trans fat intake, many still dont seem to have a good grasp on the good fats, such as unsaturated fatty acids.

Carb consciousness appears to have slipped slightly, but awareness of the importance of fiber and whole grain intake remain high, according to the survey results. In fact, for families choosing foods and beverages, the top three sought-after ingredients are fiber (37 percent), whole grains (34 percent), and protein (28 percent). For children-specific choices, the top three components are calcium (39 percent), vitamin C (31 percent), and whole grains (26 percent). On a sweeter note, most believe moderate sugar intake is fine, although most non-sugar sweeteners gained very little new attention, save the recent surge in knowledge on stevia.

Not surprisingly, food safety took its own spotlight in this years survey, with about half of Americans reporting confidence in the safety of the U.S. food supply, up about 4 percent from last year. On who is responsible for the safety of Americas food supply, almost three-quarters pointed to food manufacturers, followed by government (72 percent), farmers/producers (57 percent), retailers/food service (49 percent), and consumers/individuals (41 percent).

The USDAs recent rework of its dietary guidelines, renamed MyPyramid, fared well in terms of overall penetration into the consumer population, with 84 percent reporting awareness of MyPyramid, but only 25 percent said they incorporate this program into their regular food choices.

In the end, taste, convenience and healthfulness remained steady drivers of consumer food and beverage purchases. Not surprisingly, price has increased 4 percent as a driving factor in purchases.

For more information on this survey, visit IFICs Web site.