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Survey Shows Shoppers Weary of Nutrition Advice | |
| By MARK KENNEDY Associated Press Writer NEW YORK - More Americans are reaching for more healthful foods at the supermarket despite complaining they are fed up with nutritionists' advice, according to a recent poll. "They are confused because they are getting very conflicting information from so-called experts," said Ken Wallace, publisher of Prevention magazine, which co-sponsored the nationwide telephone survey. "They pay attention to studies but it seems every few months another comes out contradicting the one that came out a few months before that." However well-intentioned, nutritionists may be doing more harm than good. More than half of the respondents - 55 percent -said they were tired of nutritionists telling them what to eat. Another 46 percent said rival health claims left them unsure about which foods to eat. The survey said 77 percent of shoppers are reasonably confident that within the next five years, experts will have a completely different idea about which foods are healthful and which are not. "I'm not at all surprised consumers are annoyed," said Dr. Sheila Ramsey, director of the Diet Management and Eating Disorders Program at Georgetown University Medical Center in Washington, D.C. "Consumers are facing an information overload." But shoppers are not only having trouble swallowing nutritionists' advice - they are also taking food packaging claims with a serving of skepticism. Three-quarters of those surveyed felt that too many foods are considered healthful. Almost four in 10 shoppers believed they could not eat a healthful diet and still include the foods they liked. Consumers are frustrated, nutritionists say. Too often, most of the vitamins and nutrients dietitians urge consumers to eat are contained in foods deemed unhealthful. The extensive hyping of individual foods plus medical studies rushed into print without time to digest their implications were also blamed for the confusion and frustration. "This isn't bad research, it isn't bad science. There's no malice here," said Ed Slaughter, director of market research for the magazine. "The problem is that nobody's at the other end sorting this all out for the consumer." Even so, the recent blitz of dietary advice combined with advertising lauding a product's health benefits seems to have sunk in for many of today's weight-conscious consumers. Seventy-one percent of respondents agreed that their diet could be more healthful. Faced with confusing information and hungry for guidance, the survey indicates that many shoppers have become self-reliant, searching out information from the media and friends. The report shows an increase in the proportion of shoppers who can be classified as "very" or "somewhat" health conscious, from 51 percent in 1995 to 57 percent this year. Just over half - 51 percent - had made changes in their diet in the last three years for health reasons. Fat remains, as ever, Enemy No. 1. Just over half of shoppers who recently altered their diets for health reasons chose items with less fat, while for 55 percent of respondents, a food's fat content was the first item consulted when reading the Nutrition Facts label. One of the biggest changes shoppers have made this year is switching over to low-calorie versions of foods they regularly eat. Consumers have snapped up more low-calorie and low-fat versions of salad dressing, ice cream, crackers, cookies and cake than they did last year. Still, 69 percent complained that such substitutes hardly taste as good as regular versions. But nutritionists warn that a low-fat product does not necessarily mean it is healthful since even fat-free items can be loaded with calories which often can't be absorbed by the body. And although consumers say they are eating healthier, the incidence of obesity continues to rise nationally. One possibility to explain the seemingly contradictory results of the survey is that consumers may be more knowledgeable about proper nutrition but reluctant to translate that knowledge into a daily diet. "People value nutritious foods, they're glad it is more available but they're also getting frustrated being told what to do," said Annell St. Charles, a registered dietitian at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn. "But we are not changing our minds, we're just learning more." Now in its fifth year, the report's findings are based on a random survey of consumers conducted by the Food Marketing Institute and Prevention. More than 1,000 consumers responded to the survey conducted between Jan. 15 and Jan. 28, 1996. The margin or error was plus or minus 3 percent. Copyright 1996 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. | |