PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y. -- With so much attention placed on healthy eating these days, one might think what is good for us is the driving force behind Americans' food choices today; however, according to The NPD Group's 21st Annual Eating Patterns in America report, Americans are motivated by convenience first, not by health.
Some of the big surprises in this year's report that reflect our need for easier meals: Americans are eating sandwiches at dinnertime in their homes more than any other entr ae; Americans are using fewer fresh foods in meals served [image-nocss] in our homes' and after years of bringing more dinners home from a restaurant, now we are bringing home more lunches from a restaurant.
According to Harry Balzer, vice president of The NPD Group and author of the annual Eating Patterns in America report, The driving force in our eating habits has always been convenience. The only surprise is how that will manifest in our behavior.
While always the most popular lunch food, sandwiches are also the No. 1 main dish served at dinnertime in our homes. A little more than one out of every nine dinners (11.1% of all in-home dinners) consumed in our homes includes a sandwich. A sandwich is served a little more often than chicken (10.7% of in-home dinners). Beef entrees are the next most frequently prepared dish at 8.4%, then Italian dishes (5.5%), and then some homemade family recipe (also at 5.5%).
Most often these sandwiches do include meat or poultry, but is there any easier meal to prepare for supper than a sandwich? said Balzer.
NPD asked more than 50,000 meal preparers why they prepared the dish they made for supper. Here are the top five reasons:
1. Required little effort or easy to make (53%).
2. Took little/no planning (50%).
3. Made with foods that are on-hand (39%).
4. Everyone would like (35%).
5. Easily cleaned up (34%).
The next most frequent response was looking for a healthy, nutritious meal.
While sandwiches might be easier at dinnertime than other options, at lunchtime, the homemade sandwich is slowly losing its place at the table. Last year, 36% of all lunches served in our home included a sandwich, which has been on a slow decline from 1990, when 45% of all in-home lunches included a sandwich; the peak year for eating a sandwich at an in-home lunch meal. Today, we are watching Americans bring home more lunches from restaurants.
I think we're saying, Let the restaurant operator worry about having fresh bread, fresh tomatoes, fresh lettuce, fresh meat', said Balzer.
In 1990, the average American brought eight restaurant meals home for lunch during the year. Last year that number reached an all-time high at 13 lunches brought home from a restaurant; a 62% increase over 1990. While the frequency is still low, this is a reflection of a bigger issue: How do we make fresh foods easier? said Balzer.
While 92% of Americans agree that it is important for our food to be fresh when we buy it, what we say and what we do are not one and the same. Last year, nearly half (47%) of in-home main meals included at least one fresh product. That has been slowly declining from 56%, noted in NPD's very first Eating Patterns in America report in 1985.
It's a huge hassle for us to shop, keep, use and clean up fresh foods, Balzer continues. It's no surprise to me that there is growing interest around the country in meal assembly' centers. The real advantage of these places is that they do all the purchasing, storing, planning, preparing and clean up of fresh foods.
Americans are always looking for the latest way to address their health and food safety issues. Today, 100-calorie packaging and organics have the buzz. But healthy eating will take hold when it is either easier or cheaper to do than what we do now, said Balzer, who has been watching the ups and downs of healthy eating trends for the last 29 years.
Some other findings regarding health:
As of 2006, 64% of adults said they wanted to get more of whole grains in their diets, followed by 58% wanting to add more dietary fiber, 58% wanting more calcium and 55% wanting more Vitamin C. As of 2006, 71% of adults said they wanted to cut down on fat in their diets, followed by 62% wanting to cut down on calories, 62% wanting less cholesterol and 59% wanting less sugar. 49% of adults look for total calories on nutrition labels, as compared to 47% who look for total fat, 41% who look for sugars and 37% who look for calories from fat. Perhaps the next health trend will involve probiotics. Just as many adults want to add probiotics to their diet (9%) as want to avoid them (10%).Eating Patterns in America looks at the in-home and away-from-home food and beverage consumption habits, including trends in diet and nutrition and concerns about health and food safety. It tracks the daily consumption habits of hundreds of thousands of Americans. The report compiles data collected from more than 40 research efforts conducted by NPD, collecting information from consumers, manufacturers and retailers. Eating Patterns in America is based on data collected during the 12 months ending February 2006 (some exceptions apply).
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