Plans vs reality: food consumption in Australia

Many of us want to eat healthier, but not so many are doing anything about it. That’s the message from a comprehensive study into the who, what, when and where of Australia’s food choices.

The Ipsos Food CHATs (Consumption, Habits, Attitudes and Trends) report reveals that sugar continues to dominate our food priorities. 65% of us would like to eat more natural sugar substitutes, while almost half of us want to reduce the sugar we consume in beverages (49%) and breakfast cereals (48%).

However, many Australians believe being healthy is expensive and time-consuming, with the typical shopper struggling to balance healthiness against convenience and their budget, according to Ipsos Strategy & Research Director Kathy Benson. 

“Making a quick decision in-store, purchasing products which are familiar and easy to use at home, as well as meeting budget restrictions, are still very important factors when it comes to making food purchases.

“Our budgets still have a higher priority in-store than our health aspirations. Easy decisions rule and finding a healthy choice is still a challenge for many, despite the introduction of the government’s ‘Health Star Rating’ system,” she said.

When it comes to sugar, one in two adult Australians believe there is too much sugar in packaged goods; however, only one in four have tried to reduce their sugar intake. Similarly, while diet fads have become top of mind — the Paleo diet achieving the highest awareness at 47% — trial of these diets remains low at below 10%.

The study highlights potential future growth areas, with Australians indicating they would like to consume more ‘no added hormone’ beef (55%), organic chicken (46%), stall-free pork (41%), organic beef (40%), plant-based milk alternatives (33%), sugar substitutes (32%) and vegetable protein (31%).

As well as reducing sugar intake, the research reveals a few of the other things we would like to eat less of: artificial sweeteners (55%), food additives (41%), trans fat (40%), fat from meat (35%), sugar from sweet snacks (35%) and fat from dairy (19%).

The top five food priorities in 2016 for Australians are: eating more fresh fruit and vegetables (40%), smaller portion sizes (31%), reducing sugar intake from food (24%), eating healthier snacks (23%) and cutting down on fat (23%).

Shopping

When shopping, taste and price top the list of purchase decisions drivers, at 72% and 63% respectively, followed by price discounts. In addition, health continues to be the high priority area, and Australians want the government to do more about it. Food origin and safety is a clear priority, and sustainability and recycling continues to gain traction.

Eating in

While we love new flavours and inspiring food creations, experiencing the adventurous side of food consumption happens more when dining out than in kitchens at home. Dinner is still our main meal of the day and our dinner choices remain fairly consistent, with staples such as meat and veg or salad, pasta, fish and veg or pizza as our top choices.

“Despite our fascination with cooking pop culture in recent times, half of us see cooking as a chore or only as a way of caring for others in everyday life. And although two out of every three of us prepare dinner from scratch to create a healthy meal, there are still many occasions where we are reliant on ready and packaged meals,” said Benson.

Eating out

One in three Australians say they eat out and restaurants or cafes are our favourite places to eat out, followed by fast food chains, food courts and clubs and pubs. Fast food chains dominate the average number of eating out occasions at 4.6 times per month, compared to restaurants and cafes at 4.2 times.