Bloomberg reports on a new survey from the International Food Information Council Foundation suggesting that “only one of every eight adult Americans knows how many calories he should consume in a day while almost two-thirds recently changed eating habits, mainly to lose weight.”
Other quotes from the story:
• “Losing weight is the number-one reason why Americans change their diets, with 65 percent of dieters citing it as a factor, the council’s survey showed. Consumers are also becoming more suspicious about sugar, more likely to drink caffeinated beverages and are trying to eat more protein, according to the survey.”
• “The percentage of respondents agreeing that ‘moderate amounts of sugar can be part of an overall healthful diet’ fell to 58 percent from 66 percent last year and 71 percent in 2008, the foundation said. About 72 percent said they consume caffeine in moderation, up from 64 percent in 2008, the first year consumers were asked about the sweetener and the stimulant.”
• “The percentage saying they are trying to consume more protein was 49 percent, while 6 percent said they’d eat less. Twice as many consumers identified the nutrition source as coming from animal sources rather than from plants, 56 percent to 28 percent. This was the first year questions about protein were included.”
The story also notes that the International Food Information Council Foundation’s educational arm includes representatives from General Mills Inc., Kraft Foods Inc. and Mars Inc.
Other quotes from the story:
• “Losing weight is the number-one reason why Americans change their diets, with 65 percent of dieters citing it as a factor, the council’s survey showed. Consumers are also becoming more suspicious about sugar, more likely to drink caffeinated beverages and are trying to eat more protein, according to the survey.”
• “The percentage of respondents agreeing that ‘moderate amounts of sugar can be part of an overall healthful diet’ fell to 58 percent from 66 percent last year and 71 percent in 2008, the foundation said. About 72 percent said they consume caffeine in moderation, up from 64 percent in 2008, the first year consumers were asked about the sweetener and the stimulant.”
• “The percentage saying they are trying to consume more protein was 49 percent, while 6 percent said they’d eat less. Twice as many consumers identified the nutrition source as coming from animal sources rather than from plants, 56 percent to 28 percent. This was the first year questions about protein were included.”
The story also notes that the International Food Information Council Foundation’s educational arm includes representatives from General Mills Inc., Kraft Foods Inc. and Mars Inc.
- KC's View:
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This may be the classic case of too much information leading to too little knowledge. There is so much clutter that people simply are unable to cut through it all and come to a fundamental understanding of what to eat and why.
