Americans lower the bar on health

Inflated perception

The International Food Information Council Foundation’s 10th annual Food & Health Survey of Americans ages 18 to 80 finds a disconnect between Americans’ perceptions of health and reality.

“What I fear is that we’ve reset the bar, in that some people actually don’t know what feeling good is like, but they think they feel pretty good,” said Dr. Jim Hill, executive director of the Anschutz Health and Wellness Center at the University of Colorado, in a press statement. “So we’ve almost lowered the bar in defining what good health is.”

Health problems

A portion of respondents who report that their health is excellent/very good is currently being treated for high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes or other health issues.

Weight management

84% of consumers are trying to maintain or lose weight.

MyPlate

Familiarity with MyPlate has increased since 2014, with 63% of Americans recognizing the graphic (up from 58%) and 42% reporting they know something about it (up from 37%).

Scrutinizing less

Americans are paying less attention to information on food or beverage packaging vs. 2014.

Time crunch

Respondents also said that lack of time (31%), not seeing results quickly (28%) and stress and/or demanding work or travel schedules (27%) have stymied efforts to maintain or lose weight.

Beat the clock

25% of Hispanics spend an hour or more on this activity, as do 18% of African Americans and 10% of whites.