Eating well, exercising more, cutting stress, sleeping better and reducing our impact on the planet – a NEW research report from Herbalife Nutrition, based on findings from Mintel (surveying 1,000 South African consumers) has revealed that across South Africa, we have solid intentions to enhance both our health and the world we live in.
However, despite our intentions, when it comes to our actions it seems the follow-through simply isn’t there. Whether it’s a lack of information, confusion from conflicting sources, cultural influences or simply nervousness around trying new things, something is standing in the way of us achieving our wellbeing ambitions.
Short term sacrifices for long term goals
With 60% of South Africans surveyed saying that eating healthily is one of their top five wellness priorities and 45% listing weight management on this list, nutrition is clearly important to consumers when it comes to achieving their wellness goals.
In addition, when we look at consumers’ intentions to achieve these goals, we can see that across the country, 88% said that they’d make short-term sacrifices for their long-term health. In fact, South African consumers were some of the most willing to make these compromises compared to other countries surveyed across Europe and Africa.
However, when we delve deeper into putting these goals and ambitions into practice, the research tells a different story.
A desire to eat well but confusion over what this entails
Despite the previous data showing that eating nutritious meals and weight management are key goals for many, when South Africans were asked how often they currently eat healthily, only 62% said that they do most or all of the time while 39% said they did occasionally, rarely or never.
If we couple this with the fact that 41% of those polled say that they don’t eat enough fruit and vegetables and 27% think they don’t get enough protein, we can see that our healthy eating intentions are not being matched by our actions. In fact, South Africans believe they get the least amount of protein compared to consumers polled in other countries in Europe and Africa.
Andrea Bertocco, director of scientific affairs for Herbalife Nutrition in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, expands on this:
“While it’s encouraging that wellbeing intentions are clearly there, we need to look at what can be done to overcome barriers to turn this intention into reality. There’s no doubt that eating healthily and leading a balanced and active lifestyle can be challenging with the busy lives we all lead today. That’s why a lot of this comes down to educating consumers on different options and how to achieve their wellbeing goals to fit into their lifestyles”, he says.
Adding to this, Bertocco says:
“Advancements in science mean that a ‘good diet’ doesn’t need to be three meals a days of varying food types; doing exercise doesn’t need to mean beating yourself up to go to the gym. In many ways, we need to re-frame our thinking and help consumers navigate their own wellness journey within the variety of options now available to them. Essentially, eating well doesn’t have to look the same for everyone – bespoke plans are vital to success”.
A love for low sugar but a missed opportunity for plant proteins
Looking at consumers’ shopping habits, the research revealed that low sugar (27%), sources of vitamins and minerals (36%), contributes to your fruit and vegetable intake (31%) and natural ingredients (33%) are of the highest importance when shopping for food. While these are obvious choices for those seeking to enhance their wellbeing, it was interesting to see that avoiding animal-derived foods (3%) scored low, suggesting there is a lack of understanding in South Africa about how this could impact longer term health.
Andrea Bertocco continues:
“Given the potential health and environmental benefits of reducing the consumption of animal products, more work needs to be done to help consumers get the right insights into how achieving a balanced diet will benefit their wellbeing both from a health and environment perspective”.
Climate change conscious but that’s not impacting what we eat
While our own health was key, ensuring the wellbeing of our planet was also important to those polled in South Africa. In fact, over half of participants (69%) agreed that climate change will affect the food they buy. However, this intention to make more sustainable choices then clashed with 25% saying that they do not eat plant-based dairy alternatives and 20% saying they don’t eat plant-based proteins and don’t want to in the future. Clearly there’s a desire to address emissions but insight into how the meat-farming industry contributes to climate change isn’t cutting through.
Good intentions is the first step in making a change
With these insightful findings in mind, it’s clear that we have a nation with strong intentions. South Africans have expressed a desire to enhance their own wellbeing and make choices that impact the planet in a positive way. However, when it comes to putting these ambitions into practice, there’s a clear disconnect which is holding us back.
Thilo Naidoo Herbalife Nutrition concludes:
“Whether we lack the tools, support, education or insights to make these changes, something is missing between turning positive intentions into solid actions. If we stand a chance of tackling the obesity epidemic or climate change (both of which pose incredibly big risks to us) we must give consumers the tools and information to help them achieve these aims. This is something we are fully committed to here at Herbalife Nutrition as we seek to nourish communities through our science-packed products and education programmes”.
