The study entitled Shopping for Health 2004, and produced by the FMI and Prevention Magazine, says that Americans are increasingly focusing on their diets to achieve good health, and they believe healthy eating is the best way to manage illness and prevent health problems later in life.
Moreover, many shoppers said that they buy certain products because they claim to be high in nutrients, in particular calcium, vitamin C, or to be vitamin-rich or vitamin-fortified.
Shoppers also admitted to being persuaded to buy products that claim to reduce the risk of disease. Forty-two percent, for example, said they had purchased foods claiming to reduce their risk of developing heart disease and 26 percent had purchased foods claiming to reduce the risk of cancer.
"This country's obesity crisis has alerted shoppers that they need to take control of their health by taking charge of their diets," said Anne-Marie Roerink, the director of research for FMI. "They are increasingly looking to their local supermarkets and other food retailers for effective, long-range solutions."
More than one-third of the shoppers surveyed believed they had a healthly diet, while over half of them said they were making a concerted effort to eat more healthily.
The majority said this was because they wanted to prevent health problems later in life; nearly 60 percent said it was because they wanted to lose weight, while over a half wanted to use their diet to help manage current health problem. Indeed, 74 percent of respondents reported trying to treat themselves before deciding to consult a doctor. Forty-four percent thought eating better would boost self-confidence and 20 percent thought it could help them regain their youthful looks.
The report also asked the shoppers how the food industry could offer healthier solutions. The products most frequently requested (in descending order) were nutritious prepared foods, more foods without trans-fatty acids, more low-fat foods, more low-carb choices and more information about weight loss.
The government has already announced that nutritional labels should be updated to provide more information. The results of this survey seemed to justify this decision, with 83 percent of shoppers saying they regularly looked at the nutrition facts chart when buying a product for the first time and 91 percent stating they would make a purchasing decision based on this information. Furthermore, around one-fourth of them had decided against a purchase in recent months because of product labeling information.
In terms of specific claims, shoppers said they were looking for products marked low fat, whole-grain, low-calorie and low-salt.
Shoppers also appeared to be buying increasing quantities of organic foods for perceived health benefits. Fruits and vegetables remained the strongest organic category, with dairy products showing the best growth in recent years.
Organic shoppers were more likely to make their purchases at a general grocery store, but specialty retail outlets such as health food and natural food stores and farmers markets still attract a large portion of the market.
Despite all this interest, the survey concluded that the shoppers on the whole were confused; nearly 60 percent of them believed there was too much conflicting information about nutrition issues, particularly what constitutes a healthy diet. Thirty percent felt the confusion contributed to an unhealthy diet.
The respondents also cited higher costs as a barrier to purchasing healthier foods, as well as a lack of healthy options at fast-food and take-out restaurants.