Healthy ageing consumer research study
Solae, a world leader in soya ingredients, recently conducted a healthy ageing consumer research study across the 5 largest countries in Europe, focusing on health concerns of 45-74 year olds that protein or fiber could impact.
The survey identified revealing heart, energy and muscle as the top-ranked concerns for consumers.
“The health benefits received through food is increasingly becoming more important to consumers, and establishing healthy lifestyle behaviour early in life is one factor that can contribute to healthy aging.
Our study results point to an opportunity for food manufacturers to focus more on healthy ageing foods and take opportunity of the fact that 2012 will be the European Year of Active Ageing” said Reinhart Schmitt, Managing Director, Solae Europe.
The study shows that 40-50 per cent of consumers aged 45-74 are concerned about heart, energy and muscle.
Nearly 70 per cent rated their diet healthful. The older the consumer, the more likely they are to rate their diet as healthful. Thirty percent believe they are not meeting their nutritional needs and women express more health concerns than men.
Protein intakes decline for both males and females as they age and this may indicate an interesting trend for food manufacturers as 92 per cent of UK respondents rated protein as a nutrient that is extremely or somewhat important to their overall health. This is aligned with scientific evidence that supports the benefit of increasing total protein intake, the percent of calories from protein and possibly the amount of protein consumed at one time.
The UK respondents also registered the highest concerns of the 5 countries for heart health, at 63 per cent (51 per cent of UK respondents ranked heart health as their #1 or #2 health concern).
