As we settle into that time of year when most consumers resolve to make healthier lifestyle changes and food choices, we put behind us a year flush with reports about the American obesity crisis and its influence on the development of diabetes and cardiovascular-related ailments. As a promising byproduct of the media blitz, consumers have been steadily awakened to take a controlling interest in the kind food they eat—not just as it pertains to calories, carbs, protein and fats, but also allergens, additives and preservatives—with cost as the overarching mitigating factor. This mindset and purchasing shift has visibly impacted the way foods are marketed and has initiated a transformation within the food service industry.
 
According to “Health on the Restaurant Menu: Foodservice Trends in the U.S.,” a recently released report from Packaged Facts, the food service industry’s adaptation to the self-aware consumer has also been driven in part by government pressures at the municipal, state and federal levels.  

Packaged Facts found obesity to currently account for 9.1% of all medical spending, up from 6.5% in 1998. “An obese person spends $1429 per year more on medical costs, or about 42% more, than someone of healthy weight,” researchers stated. “Costs for an obese Medicare recipient are even greater.”

At this pace, obesity will continue to impose a significant burden on the healthcare system as long as the prevalence of obesity remains high. “According to data from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), in 2005-2008, the prevalence of obesity was 33.9% among adults age 20-74, up from 31.2% during 2001-2004,” researchers asserted. “With government cost cutting (including Medicare and Medicaid) on the table, the pressure to address obesity-related healthcare costs can only increase.”   

Obesity trends mirror the rise in individual calorie intake—a trend that has only recently begun to reverse itself. “The number of calories consumed has increased from 2169 in 1970 to 2594 in 2009, a 19.6% jump,” the report stated. “However, calorie intake has actually dropped from the peak reached in 2002.”  

David Sprinkle, publisher of Packaged Facts, pointed to link between obesity and socioeconomic factors, such as income level and race/ethnicity, which creates complex questions for the food industry. He said there remains a clear relationship between household financial resources and diet perception: people who rate their diets as “excellent” tend to come from households with greater financial resources than those who rate their diet as “poor.”

Packaged Facts researchers reported that in poor neighborhoods across the U.S., residents experience far higher rates of adult and childhood obesity than those in more affluent neighborhoods. Although many families continue to struggle to put wholesome food on the table at mealtime amid poverty and food insecurity, at the same time, many adults and children are overweight or obese.

But recent evidence suggests that change—at least in the form of consumer self-awareness—is underway. Historical research has shown that consumers tend to perceive that their diets are better than they really are relative to widely accepted dietary guidance. During the past 20 years, however, consumers have become much less likely to rate their diets as “Excellent” or “Very Good” in terms of healthfulness, even though the healthfulness of the American diet has undergone little change over this period. According to “Health on the Restaurant Menu: Foodservice Trends in the U.S.,” that finding implied that consumers may be becoming more receptive to dietary guidance.

As the nation struggles to combat the growing epidemic of obesity and obesity-related diseases, public officials, health professionals and food industry participants continue to provide more information on the nutritional content of foods to help consumers choose healthier and truly nutritious diets. “If a lack of specific information contributes to excess caloric consumption, then labeling in the away-from-home market may make it easier to moderate intake,” the researchers speculated. “Calorie labeling may help diners make healthier choices when eating out, or it may help them realize that they should consume fewer calories at other meals throughout the day to compensate for high-calorie meals away from home.”  

Applying the old carrot and stick analogy, Packaged Facts asserted that if the carrot of consumer education fails, society may increasingly turn to the stick. “An Aon Hewitt survey released in June 2011 found that almost half of employers expect by 2016 to have programs that penalize workers ‘for not achieving specific health outcomes’ such as lowering their weight, up from 10% in 2011,” researchers said.

For more information on how to obtain a copy of Packaged Facts’ “Health on the Restaurant Menu: Foodservice Trends in the U.S.” report, click here.