Ditch the Diet: Consumers take control over their dietary habits

Health not diet: expanding consumer knowledge

Consumers often state that they are concerned about how healthy their food really is. A Canadean survey of British consumers found that 71% considered health and wellbeing as important to them, yet obesity rates in the UK continue to climb. The average BMI in the UK is above 27, making the average Briton overweight and only three points short of obesity. This shows that British consumers have an attitude-behaviour gap; they may intend to eat healthily, but struggle to do so. This is because consumers are not fully knowledgeable about healthy eating or are unable to refrain from unhealthy diets.

Meanwhile, brands such as Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, and other ‘diet-food’ companies are struggling. Consumer interest in weight loss products is waning – this is because they are becoming increasingly sceptical of products marketed around weight loss and because they associate such products with compromise.

Personal dieting choice: calorie counting and flexible food

Consumers want more control over their dietary habits, leading to their declining interest in dieting products. Instead they will look to moderate consumption of certain food and opt for smaller portions. When Canadean asked British consumers about their dieting plans, the most common approach to healthy eating was to "moderate consumption of certain food and drinks" (38% of respondents),whilst 29% say that they tend to "eat smaller portions". In comparison, only 8% say that they "go on regular diets".

Moreover, consumers are no longer looking to vigorously count calories when it comes to every portion of food and drink that they have, driving the decline in popularity of dieting products. This doesn’t mean that consumers will discount calories completely. Mobile apps such as ‘Calorie Counter & Diet Tracker’ by MyFitnessPal, have seen downloads number in the millions as consumers are looking to keep track of their nutritional intake on the move. However consumers will only resort to this level of calorie counting with certain foods and not on a regular basis because of the impact that time-scarcity has on shopping occasions.

Instead of calorie counting, consumers are opting for more flexibility with food. This can be either by aiming to make long and sustainable changes in their diet, by moderating their consumption, or looking for more instant but still flexible solutions such as that offered by the 5:2 diet. This diet is based on a principle known as intermittent fasting – eating normally five days a week and fasting on the other two days – and highlights how consumers are seeking to take greater control over their dieting.

Finding the time: sustainable dietary habits

A Canadean survey shows that 34% of UK adults say that they are eating more products containing "more healthy" ingredients such as wholegrains and fibre. This shows that consumer attitudes are slowly shifting away from "miracle" cures and towards more sustainable eating habits.

However, time-scarcity and consumers’ continued desire to indulge will act as significant barriers to adopting long-term healthy eating habits. Despite scepticism towards "miracle" weight loss regimes such as the Atkins Diet and the Cabbage Soup Diet, consumers will continue to seek out the next miracle dietary plan. The key implication for this is that obesity rates will continue to rise in the short term as people are looking for miracle health cures instead of adopting a sustainable approach to eating.

Taste over health: exciting flavours and exotic ingredients

People will always indulge in food, with the demand for healthy products in confectionary and savoury snacks very low. Canadean has tracked the influence of 20 consumption motivators in food markets in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the UK and US. Figures across these countries show health influenced choice in only 4.7% of savoury snack consumption, compared to indulgence which motivated 31.8% of consumption. In confectionary the difference is even greater, with indulgence the motivator in 46.7% of consumption, and health accounting for just 4.3%. This highlights the unwillingness of consumers to compromise taste over health in what are considered to be the unhealthiest categories.

Furthermore, expanding palates and new, exciting flavours are becoming increasingly popular; diet products will struggle to keep on-trend with the influx of these exotic tastes and despite their best efforts will often be striving to catch-up.