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London (pte014/27.04.2005/10:50) - Half of British adults are fed up with being told what they should eat by "do-good" campaigners, according to a new survey. As the BBC http://www.bbc.co.uk reports, consumer research company Mintel http://www.mintel.com found that the overload of healthy eating information is also leading to confusion among the public. More than two-thirds of the 988 adults questioned said it is difficult to know which foods are healthy as "expert advice" keeps changing. A similar amount said that labelling did not help with selecting healthier options. Furthermore, three out of five said that it was difficult to work out if foods were healthy from the labels or information on food packets.
According to the researchers, they anticipate the emergence of so-called "super consumers" - people who take on board all messages about healthy diets and scrutinise the food they put on their plates. "There is clearly a large number of adults who are suffering from chronic information overload when it comes to healthy eating issues," said James McCoy, senior market analyst at Mintel. "There is a wealth of information, which bombards the public in matters of health and diet and given the complexity of many of these issues, it is hardly surprising that so many consumers feel confused." He added that health education campaigners need to find new ways to encourage change for the better in diet among this sector of the population.
According to Jackie Lowdon of the British Dietetics Association, some campaigns send out confusing and mixed messages that are not properly targeted. "This can be confusing for people. We need to make sure that messages are simple, positive, consistent, targeted and achievable," she said. According to Lowdon, the BDA's five-a-day message - encouraging all people to eat five portions of fruit and vegetables each day - is a good example of how a clear health message can work.
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