What’s for dinner?
It’s a seemingly simple question, one that’s asked millions of times every day. But when you consider the many factors that go into answering it — cost, convenience, climate change — it’s no wonder we spend so much time thinking about the food we eat.
And this does not include breakfast, lunch or snacks.
Americans’ food choices affect so much, including trillions of dollars in spending and our collective risk of developing many chronic diseases, that’s why the International Food Information Council conducts an annual food and health survey.
“It’s important to understand the consumer perspective,” said Chris Solid, R.D., senior director of nutrition communications for the industry-funded nonprofit.
For almost two decades, IFIC research has consistently ranked taste as the most important factor in food purchasing decisions, followed by price, healthiness, convenience and environmental sustainability.
In a 2024 survey of 3,000 Americans answered in March, about 30% of respondents said the sustainability of a product is very important when making food and drink purchasing decisions.
That number may seem low, considering that scientists are already looking for ways to feed a planet that is projected to reach nearly 10 billion people by 2050, while also reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
But for Solid, the fact that 30% of those surveyed scored sustainability a four or five on a five-point scale is a powerful result.
“Obviously, we would love to see that number go up, there’s no question about that,” he said.
Here’s a look at the current state of Americans’ eating habits, based on data from a new IFIC survey.
What are we thinking about when we decide what to eat?
First and foremost, we are looking for things that will give us energy or help us fight fatigue, but health considerations are also a top priority.
What foods are we choosing?
Protein is the most popular nutrient right now—20% of people surveyed said they had eaten a “high protein” diet in the past year, up from just 4% five years ago—but it’s not the only nutrient we want in our diets.
At the same time, Americans are trying to reduce their intake of unhealthy substances.
For example, 50% of people surveyed said they are trying to limit or avoid their sodium, or salt, intake. Eating too much salt can cause high blood pressure, which is a risk factor for serious health problems like heart disease and stroke.
Additionally, 44% of people surveyed said they were trying to limit or avoid saturated fats, which can lead to a buildup of bad LDL cholesterol in blood vessels, also increasing the risk of heart disease and stroke.
But public enemy number one is sugar.
What’s so bad about sugar?
Our bodies need some sugar to give us energy, but if we consume too much of it at once (which often happens when we eat soft drinks, breakfast cereals and all kinds of ultra-processed foods), that sugar gets stored as fat and can lead to a variety of problems, including obesity, diabetes and heart disease.
Two-thirds of people surveyed by IFIC said they were trying to limit their sugar intake, and 11% said they were trying to avoid sugar altogether, mainly targeting added sugars in packaged foods and drinks, but some also said they were cutting back on natural sugars in foods such as fruit and plain dairy products.
My motivation for giving up sugar was a combination of concerns about my current and future health.
What other concerns influence our food choices?
We’re not just thinking about ourselves when deciding what to eat: for many people, concerns about how food is produced are important when deciding whether to purchase a particular food or drink.
That concern extends to the animals, to the people involved in every aspect of getting food to our tables, from farmers to factory workers to grocery store and restaurant staff, and even to the planet itself.
How do you know if your food was produced with the environment in mind?
The good news is that over 70% of survey respondents care about this. The bad news is that there’s no easy way to find out.
“There’s no real definition of whether a food product is environmentally sustainable,” Solid says. “There’s no one thing you can look at on a food package and tell you whether this choice is better than that choice.”
Instead, eco-conscious consumers can take inspiration from these tips:
Will people pay more for environmentally friendly products?
Producing food and drink sustainably often comes at additional costs, so IFIC posed the following hypothetical scenario:
Imagine you go to the store to buy a particular item and you are given three options: one is $3 and has an icon indicating it is “not very eco-friendly,” another is $5 and is labeled “somewhat eco-friendly,” and the third is $7 and is “very eco-friendly.”
Which do you choose?
What is the connection between food and stress?
Research has found that stress works both ways: it can affect the foods we choose to eat, and the foods we choose can cause stress.
This is a topic IFIC began asking following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has created both economic insecurity and food insecurity.
“COVID-19 has revealed a lot of anxiety and underlying sources of stress that many people have had to face,” Solid said.
Four years after the survey began, almost two-thirds of those surveyed now suffer from significant stress, up from 60% in 2023.
What are we so stressed about?
Money and health issues remain the biggest sources of stress for those who are “very” or “somewhat” stressed, with nearly one in four people in this category worrying about their food choices.
Are we eating our emotions?
Some of us think so: Nearly two-thirds of people say their mental and emotional health has a very or moderate influence on the diet they choose.
About half of people who experience some level of stress say they make poor food and drink choices as a result, but a small percentage of people also seek out healthier options to cope with stress.
