What is for dinner?
It's a deceptively simple question that's asked millions of times every day. But consider the numerous factors that go into answering that question—from cost to convenience to climate change—and it's no wonder we spend so much time thinking about the food we eat.
This does not even include breakfast, lunch and snacks.
Much depends on Americans' food choices, including trillions of dollars in spending and our collective risk of developing a range of chronic diseases. That's why the International Food Information Council conducts an annual survey on food and health.
“It’s about understanding the consumer mindset,” said Kris Sollid, a registered dietitian and senior director of nutrition communications at the industry-funded nonprofit.
In nearly two decades of IFIC surveys, taste has consistently been ranked as the most important factor in food purchasing decisions, followed by price, health, convenience and environmental sustainability.
In the 2024 survey of 3,000 Americans in March, about 30% of respondents said that an item's sustainability plays a major role in their purchasing decisions about what they eat and drink.
That may seem low considering that scientists are already looking for ways to feed the nearly 10 billion people expected to live on the planet by 2050 while reducing heat-trapping greenhouse gas emissions.
However, Sollid considers the fact that 30% of respondents gave sustainability a rating of 4 or 5 on a 5-point scale to be a strong result.
“Of course I would like to see that number higher, there is no doubt about that,” he said.
Here's a look at the state of the American diet, based on data from IFIC's new findings.
What goes through our minds when we decide what to eat?
First of all, we look for something that gives us energy or helps against tiredness. But health aspects are also important.
Which foods do we choose?
Protein is currently the most popular nutrient – 20% of respondents said they followed a “high protein” diet in the past year, up from just 4% five years earlier. But it’s not the only thing we want in our food.
At the same time, Americans are trying to limit ingredients that are harmful to us.
For example, 50% of respondents said they would try to limit or avoid sodium or salt. Too much salt can raise your blood pressure, and high blood pressure (also known as hypertension) is a risk factor for serious health problems like heart disease and stroke.
Additionally, 44% of respondents said they try to limit or avoid saturated fat, the type of fat that can cause LDL cholesterol—the bad cholesterol—to build up in your blood vessels, which also increases your risk of heart disease and stroke.
But public enemy number 1 is a lump of sugar.
What's so bad about sugar?
Our bodies need some sugar for energy, but when we consume too much of it at once—which can easily happen when we consume soft drinks, breakfast cereals, and all kinds of highly processed foods—it gets stored as fat, which can lead to obesity, diabetes, heart disease, among other problems.
Two-thirds of those who responded to the IFIC survey said they were trying to limit their sugar intake, and 11% said they were trying to cut it out altogether. Their main targets were added sugars in packaged foods and drinks, although some also reduced natural sugars in foods such as fruit and plain dairy products.
The reasons for this retreat from sugar were a combination of current and future health concerns.
What other concerns influence our food choices?
We don't just think about ourselves when we decide what to eat. For many people, concerns about the way our food is produced play a role when they decide to purchase a particular food or drink.
This concern extends to animals, to the people involved in all aspects that put food on our plates – from farmers to factory workers to grocery store or restaurant employees – and to the planet itself.
How can we judge whether a food has been produced with environmental considerations?
The good news is that this is something that more than 70% of survey respondents are interested in. The bad news is that there is no easy way to find out.
“There is no real definition of what makes a food environmentally sustainable,” Sollid said. “There is nothing someone can look at on a food package to tell if this choice is better than that one.”
Instead, environmentally conscious consumers should follow the following guidelines:
Will people pay more for an environmentally friendly product?
Sustainable food and beverage production often comes with additional costs, so IFIC presented this hypothetical scenario:
Imagine you go to the store to buy a certain item and find three options. One costs $3 and has a symbol indicating it is “not very environmentally friendly.” Another costs $5 and is labeled “somewhat environmentally friendly.” The third costs $7 and is “very environmentally friendly.”
Which one would you take?
What is the connection between food and stress?
The study found that this goes both ways: stress affects the foods we choose, and the foods we choose can cause stress.
Following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused both economic and food insecurity, IFIC began asking about this issue.
“COVID has exposed a lot of fears or potential sources of stress that many people were facing,” Sollid said.
Four years later, nearly two-thirds of respondents are struggling with significant stress, up from 60% in 2023.
Why are we so stressed?
Money and health issues remain the biggest sources of stress for those who said they were “very” or “somewhat” stressed, with nearly one in four in this category concerned about their food choices.
Do we eat our feelings?
Some of us are. Nearly two-thirds of people said their mental and emotional well-being had a significant or moderate impact on their diet.
Of those who were at least somewhat stressed, about half said their food and drink choices suffered. However, a small number responded to stress by seeking healthier options.
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