DSM Unveils New Data on Major Health Concerns

12 May 2016 --- DSM has published the results of a comprehensive new survey on consumer health concerns, which reveals that today’s adults worry more about weight than other health issues.

Speaking with FoodIngredientsFirst at Vitafoods, 2016, Maria Pavlidou, Head of Communications Human Nutrition and Health EMEA at DSM explains the insights behind the findings: “Adults are mostly worried about their weight and this was interesting for us as we gave a lot of different possible answers, including cardiovascular diseases and cancer. Still people selected weight – obesity is a new pandemic, you see that its not necessarily about losing weight but people replied that they are worried about maintaining weight,” she says, “This trend of wellness and being healthy is one of the most common concepts.”

The findings illustrate that this anxiety then shifts again over time – with consumers becoming more concerned about their bones and joints as they get older (from the age of 51).

The survey also shows that health concerns change throughout life, as people age.

DSM’s survey also unveils the differences in the top concerns between countries. For example, people in Italy, France and Egypt are most worried about their protection against diseases later in life, while the majority of those surveyed in Poland and Russia are concerned with eye health. Meanwhile, weight is the top preoccupation for consumers in Sweden, Spain, the UK and South Africa. In Germany, on the other hand, bone and joint health is the main issue.

In addition, the results disclose that up to 45% of people surveyed are worried about not getting the right amount of nutrition and half of those interviewed claim to be looking for foods with high vitamin content.

However, despite these concerns, the survey found that only three out of ten people are eating five different types of fruit and vegetables a day, while just two out of five consumers eat 2-3 portions of fish a week on average.

The study also highlights the use of supplements by consumers to address their health concerns. The most used supplements by consumers of all ages are those that support immunity and resistance to disease and cold.

For adults over 51 years old, supplements for bone and joint health follow closely behind, while younger adults (18-30 years) largely opt for supplements to take care of the appearance of their skin. Although weight is a top concern for many consumers, exercise and nutrition is preferred over supplements as a solution to tackle the problem – with 39% total interviewees exercising to counter weight gain and only a total of 8% taking supplements.

Pavlidou adds: “The survey has revealed essential insights that we can use alongside our scientific expertise to further support our customers in developing the right products for people at different life stages. Understanding the needs of today’s consumers is just one example of how DSM provides added value to its customers.”

"We want to use the consumer study in order to support our customers with concept and product development. If you know what the consumer is worried about then you can develop the right product to address the health concern," she concludes.

by Elizabeth Kenward