{"id":3970,"date":"2024-02-14T13:56:00","date_gmt":"2024-02-14T13:56:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/?p=3970"},"modified":"2024-06-27T14:05:15","modified_gmt":"2024-06-27T14:05:15","slug":"new-year-brought-increased-consumer-interest-in-food-and-nutrition-resolutions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/2024\/Q1\/new-year-brought-increased-consumer-interest-in-food-and-nutrition-resolutions","title":{"rendered":"New year brought increased consumer interest in food and nutrition resolutions"},"content":{"rendered":"

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. —<\/p> \n

Food or nutrition-related New Year\u2019s resolutions were more popular among consumers going into 2024 compared to last year, according to the January<\/a> Consumer Food Insights Report. This year 25% of consumers responded \u201cyes\u201d when asked if they had any food or nutrition-related New Year\u2019s resolutions, up 6 percentage points from the response to the same question last year.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The survey-based report out of Purdue University\u2019s Center for Food Demand Analysis and Sustainability<\/strong><\/a> assesses food spending, consumer satisfaction and values, support of agricultural and food policies, and trust in information sources. Purdue experts conducted and evaluated the survey, which included 1,200 consumers across the U.S. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe top words that popped up in people\u2019s resolutions showed most consumers were focused on eating healthier by either limiting the intake of foods like sugar or increasing the intake of foods like fruits and vegetables,\u201d said the report\u2019s lead author, Joseph Balagtas<\/a>, professor of agricultural economics<\/a> at Purdue and director of CFDAS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some of the January survey results were categorized by body mass index (BMI), using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention\u2019s adult BMI calculator<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe see a slightly larger proportion of overweight consumers with resolutions, 29%, compared to non-overweight consumers with resolutions, 20%,\u201d Balagtas said. Consumers cited improving health and weight loss as the top motivations behind their resolutions. Weight loss, however, was a primary motivator for 60% of consumers classified as overweight, compared to 26% of non-overweight consumers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To create this month\u2019s diet and nutrition survey questions, the research team consulted Purdue\u2019s Heather Eicher-Miller<\/a>, professor of nutrition science in the College of Health and Human Sciences<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs one might expect, the majority of consumers plan to increase their consumption of fruits, vegetables and water while limiting the intake of salty snacks, sugary foods, regular soft drinks and alcohol,\u201d Balagtas said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among consumers who planned to decrease their consumption of a certain food, 46% anticipated cravings as an obstacle. For those trying to eat more of a certain food, a majority anticipated cost as a barrier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe survey reveals a strong perception that healthy diets are more expensive than less healthy diets,\u201d Balagtas noted. \u201cAnd while this perception is\u00a0true for many of the poorest people around the world<\/a>, it\u2019s not necessarily the case here in the U.S. Measuring the cost of a diet actually turns out to be a little complex, and it\u2019s something we\u2019re working on at the center. But I think it is possible for most of us in the U.S. to improve our diets in a cost-effective way.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Do Americans Feel About Their Diets?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"A
In general, how healthy is your overall diet? Would you say it is…, January 2024. Consumer Food Insights. Source: Center for Food Demand Analysis and Sustainability<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Using the U.S. Department of Agriculture<\/a>\u2019s 5-point scale from \u201cpoor\u201d to \u201cexcellent,\u201d the Purdue researchers found that 84% of consumers rate their diet as \u201cgood,\u201d \u201cvery good,\u201d or \u201cexcellent.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Consumers who knew of the USDA\u2019s and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dietary Guidelines for Americans<\/a> were more likely to report that their diet is healthy. The guidelines provide advice on what to drink and eat to ensure that nutrient needs are met. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAwareness of the guidelines is a good sign, but when we look at what Americans actually eat compared to the recommendations in the guidelines, the grade on a scale to 100 would be a 58, or F+<\/a>,\u201d Eicher-Miller said. \u201cSo it looks like people might have an optimistic view of their diets.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the \u201cFood Expenditures\u201d category, average weekly food spending was $124 in January, up 20% from January 2022. \u201cIt is no surprise to see food spending increase, given the high food inflation we experienced during the same period,\u201d noted Elijah Bryant, a survey research analyst at CFDAS and co-author of the report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do You Have Plans To Alter Your Diet in the New Year?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"A
Share of consumers who have food or nutrition-related New Year\u2019s resolutions. Aggregated and by BMI Group, January 2024. Consumer Food Insights. Source: Center for Food Demand Analysis and Sustainability.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Consumer inflation expectations and estimates \u2014 unchanged from last month \u2014 remained down slightly from last summer. However, the Consumer Price Index measure of food inflation in January was 2.7%, down significantly from last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And while the food insecurity rate has hovered around 13% since September 2023, the rate of households receiving free food declined to 12% in January from 15% in December.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWith food inflation on the decline, consumers may be seeing some relief on their wallets, reducing the reliance on free food to supplement their food purchases,\u201d Bryant observed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The incidence of overweight is higher among consumers who are food-insecure or participate in SNAP. \u201cThe income effect may explain this pattern, as the incidence of overweight is higher and diet quality lower among low-income consumers,\u201d Bryant said. \u201cOur survey highlights the intertwined problems of food insecurity and nutrition, and the importance of research for identifying solutions to both.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most Americans continue to be considered \u201cthriving\u201d on the diet well-being index (63%). However, this average is lower than the 2022 (70%) and 2023 (69%) averages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Overweight consumers report a slightly lower score on the diet well-being index compared to non-overweight consumers over the last 25 months, with 66% versus 73% considered \u201cthriving,\u201d respectively. \u201cHowever, it should be noted that the majority of all consumers remain happy with their diets and lives,\u201d Bryant said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The January survey also asked consumers about their trust in food and nutrition-related information from organizations and professionals tasked with protecting public health and the U.S. food system. These include primary care professionals, the Food and Drug Administration, the USDA and the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Consumers rated their trust higher in January compared to the 2022 and 2023 averages on the CFDAS trust index.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Center for Food Demand Analysis and Sustainability is part of Purdue\u2019s Next Moves in agriculture and food systems<\/strong><\/a> and uses innovative data analysis shared through user-friendly platforms to improve the food system. In addition to the Consumer Food Insights Report, the center offers a portfolio of online dashboards<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About Purdue University<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Purdue University is a public research institution demonstrating excellence at scale. Ranked among top 10 public universities and with two colleges in the top four in the United States, Purdue discovers and disseminates knowledge with a quality and at a scale second to none. More than 105,000 students study at Purdue across modalities and locations, including nearly 50,000 in person on the West Lafayette campus. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue\u2019s main campus has frozen tuition 13 years in a row. See how Purdue never stops in the persistent pursuit of the next giant leap \u2014 including its first comprehensive urban campus in Indianapolis, the new Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr. School of Business, and Purdue Computes \u2014 at https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/president\/strategic-initiatives<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Food or nutrition-related New Year\u2019s resolutions were more popular among consumers going into 2024 compared to last year, according to the January Consumer Food Insights Report. This year 25% of consumers responded \u201cyes\u201d when asked if they had<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":3692,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,7],"tags":[],"department":[6],"source":[29],"purdue_today_topic":[],"coauthors":[53],"class_list":["post-3970","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","category-research-excellence","department-agriculture","source-purdue-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3970","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3970"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3970\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3975,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3970\/revisions\/3975"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3692"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3970"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3970"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3970"},{"taxonomy":"department","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/department?post=3970"},{"taxonomy":"source","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/source?post=3970"},{"taxonomy":"purdue_today_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/purdue_today_topic?post=3970"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=3970"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}