American Overwhelmed by Conflicting Food Information

Survey finds that a “health halo” could be causing flawed food and nutrition decisions.

May 18, 2017

WASHINGTON – Americans are consuming food information from more sources than ever before, yet their nutritional literacy is lacking, which could also be affecting their overall health as a result, suggests a recent International Food Information Council Foundation survey.

“As in previous years, the Food and Health Survey has shown that Americans feel overwhelmed by conflicting food and nutrition information,” said IFIC Foundation CEO Joseph Clayton. “But this year, we’re finding troubling signs that the information glut is translating into faulty decisions about our diets and health.”

The survey found that most consumers (78%) say they encounter conflicting information about what to eat and avoid, and more than half of them (56%) say the conflicting information makes them doubt the choices they make.

Almost all consumers (96%) seek out health benefits from what they eat and drink—benefits like weight loss, cardiovascular health, energy and digestive health—but out of those, only 45% could identify a single food or nutrient associated with those benefits. For example, while sources of omega-3 fatty acids such as fish oil can contribute to heart health, just 12% made an association between them. And while people are interested in energy benefits, less than 5% could name caffeine as one source providing those benefits.

The survey suggests that advice from family and friends could also be creating confusion. About three-quarters of consumers (77%) say they rely on friends and family at least a little for both nutrition and food safety information, which tops other sources including health professionals, news and the Internet. But only 29% have high trust in family or friends as information sources, far behind sources such as registered dietitian nutritionists, other health or fitness professionals and health-related websites.

Meanwhile, six in 10 consumers (59%) rated family and friends as the top influencer on decisions about their eating patterns or diets. Personal healthcare professionals were cited by 55% of consumers, while all other sources rated only in the single digits.

Consumers may also be making flawed decisions about nutrition because of non-health factors that can alter the perception of what is healthful. These factors include the form of the food (fresh, frozen, canned), place of purchase (e.g., convenience store vs. natural food store), the length of the ingredient list and price that are driving perceptions of healthfulness—even between two foods with identical nutrition information.

For example, even with nutritionally identical products, consumers are almost five times as likely to believe a fresh product is healthier than canned and four times as likely to believe a fresh product is healthier than frozen. Consumers also are more likely to believe a product that costs $2 is healthier than an otherwise identical product that costs 99 cents.

Other survey highlights found that products’ brand names ranked last among factors that impact shoppers’ food and beverage purchasing decisions. From a list of six factors, 35% said that brand was a driver of their purchases, behind taste (84%), price (66%), healthfulness (63%), convenience (49%) and sustainability (38%).

Consumers overwhelmingly shop for food at supermarkets (80%), followed by super-stores (45%), warehouse/discount clubs (35%), farmers’ markets (19%), natural foods stores (17%), convenience stores (14%) and drugstores (11%).

About six in 10 (58%) of consumers use nutrition information at least sometimes to decide what to have when eating away from home.

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