Fat and happy: research finds overweight no barrier to good health

02-Feb-2009 - Last updated on 02-Feb-2009 at 15:19 GMT

Tate & Lyle research has found a staggering 91 per cent of European consumers believe they are in good health, even though many of them also perceive themselves as being overweight.

The survey conducted with more than 4000 respondents revealed the apparent paradox, but analyst Caroline Sanders, noted obesity and overweight awareness was increasing and that had buoyed the figures.

“Overweight consumers may still feel they are basically healthy but our research indicates they are becoming increasingly concerned about the consequences of being overweight,” she told NutraIngredients.com.

Such concerns mean 64 per cent of consumers were interested in eating healthier foods.

Although actual rates of obesity and overweight may have been lower, French consumers were more likely to perceive themselves as being overweight than Germans, with UK consumers falling somewhere in between.

On the label

An increased interest in healthier foods was coupled with an increasingly sophisticated approach to reading labels, with more consumers taking the time to scrutinise labels and looking for an ever-expanding array of data.

So while in the past consumers may have been calorie-obsessed when reading labelled, and keen to check on salt, fat and sugar levels, they now had an interest in other ingredients such as fibre.

“Consumers want simple, concise labels which clearly show a product’s health benefits, to make shopping decisions easier,” said Jerome Tauzin, Tate & Lyle’s fibre product manager for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. “For instance, a claim about ’digestive health’ for beverages received top score from our survey’s respondents in all countries”.

Tate & Lyle is a major fibre ingredient player and its fibre offerings are increasingly appearing beyond the bakery category with dairy products, beverages, bars increasingly popular.

“People are looking for solutions to weight problems and fibre-fortified foods can help provide them,” Sanders said. “Formulation advances have meant more foods can be fortified with fibre without changing taste or mouthfeel, prices are becoming more competitive so these options are becoming more and more attractive.”

Tauzin said about 40 per cent of consumers held reservations about fibre’s potential to adversely affect taste.

“The really good news is that Tate & Lyle has shown that half of the European consumers surveyed are willing to pay more for a product with a fibre claim on-pack across all categories, from baked goods, to dairy and beverages. This is especially important as the study was conducted during a period when the economy was already under pressure”.