BY MICHAEL SYMONDS RESEARCH MANAGER, EVOLUTION INSIGHTS
In our recent Health Survey, we’ve seen some interesting changes from previous years in terms of attitudes to health, and shoppers’ eating habits. While looking at these changes we found an interesting trend, that is the clear differences in attitudes to health across socioeconomic groups.
There appears to be a polarisation in the health of the nation: the wealthier are getting healthier, while the poorer are abandoning attempts to regain their health due to the costs involved.
More than half the shoppers surveyed (57%) said that buying healthy food is expensive, with the perception even worse among poorer households, where two thirds agreed. These thoughts are prevalent in the North East, as well as the other non-English countries in the UK.
Notwithstanding the price perception, less than a quarter (22%) say they don’t buy healthy products at all (where a comparable less healthy product is available, but at a cheaper price) rising to nearly a third among the least affluent (30%). Maybe most surprisingly, older shoppers (over 65) are also the least likely to buy healthy products! Four in every ten shoppers say that it’s worth paying more to eat healthy, although just three in ten of the less well-off agree. The growth in healthy products though looks to be driven by the younger shoppers, where over half see the worth in buying healthy products, even if they are more expensive.
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