1AARP Foundation

In 2016, AARP Foundation commissioned a survey to gain insights into how the 50+ demographic makes eating decisions, perceives healthy diets and to understand consumption patterns related to nutritious food.

AARP Foundation strives to enhance timely, safe, appropriate and affordable nutritious food to the vulnerable 50+ community. This means not just getting food to the food insecure, but making sure that food is healthy, meets dietary needs and promotes a lifetime of wellness.

We do this by redefining hunger as a health issue. As such, AARP Foundation strives to:1. Improve the nutritional quality, freshness and safety of foods consumed by the 50+ vulnerable population2. Provide for efficient distribution systems that work to reduce cost and increase availability and access to healthy,

nutritious foods 3. Strengthen food knowledge to enhance buying power, purchasing habits and cooking skills that result in healthy,

nutritious and age-appropriate meals

Our research includes a deep dive into the 50+ consumer segment and a greater understanding around factors that contribute to the nutritional quality of one’s diet and purchasing habits.

The survey findings below reflect the results from a sample of 1,535 individuals aged 50+, stratified by age and income. It was conducted online using the nationally representative GfK KnowledgePanel.

The summary of results is presented below in three sections: 1. Values; 2. Forms: Fresh, Frozen, Canned and;3. Nutrition Information.

50+ Consumer Survey HighlightsHealthy Living and Diet Perceptions,Food Purchasing and Consumption Habits

2AARP Foundation

Values

This section addresses the values and preferences individuals bring to their food and shopping choices. One of the most important values related to food choices is the desire to be healthy. Our survey shows that being healthy largely means what one might expect – maintaining physical abilities and avoiding illnesses. In addition,the desire to live independently as an indicator of health increases with age, while the importance of a healthy weight declines.

0Maintaining appropriate

weight

Being able to do what you

want physically

Having no serious illnesses

Having the ability to live

independently

Maintaining a nutritious diet

Limiting unhealthy foods

Limiting alcohol consumption

20

40

60

80

40

61 63

42 40

22

6

0

Age 50-59 Age 60-64 Age 65+

Maintaining appropriate weight Having the ability to live independently

20

40

6045 43

34 3542

49

Being healthy means different things to different people. What do you think being healthy means?

As we age, we think less about maintaining an appropriate weight and more about having the ability to live independently.

Among older adults, being able to do what you want physically and having no serious illnesses aligned most closely with how one defined being healthy.

Staying healthy and fueling your body are the prime reasons respondents give for eating. If forced to choose between taste or nutrition as the prime reason for food choices, taste is the overall preference among all respondents with clear gender and age differences – women and those over 65 years old are more likely than men or those aged 50 to 59 to stress nutrition over taste.

3AARP Foundation

What is more important when considering the foods you purchase?

0Nutrition Taste

20

40

60

41

59

How important are the following reasons to you for eating?

0To fuel

your bodyTo stay healthy

To experience new foods

To experience the foods I like

The enjoyment of cooking

The experience of eating

with others

30

60

90 73 79

22

61

28 31

0Nutrition Taste

20

40

60

80

Men Women

36

44

6355

0Nutrition Taste

20

40

60

80

Men Women

36

44

6355

When it comes to looking at this same forced choice by gender, more women value nutrition over taste while more men value taste over nutrition.

Given the forced choice of nutrition or taste, most older adults value taste over nutrition.

Most older adults eat to fuel their body and to stay healthy. A significant number also eat to experience the food he/she likes.

4AARP Foundation

The message about the benefits of fruits and vegetables has clearly gotten out since large majorities say these two food items are what they wish they could consume more often. However, cost is still the major barrier to greater consumption of fruits and vegetables.

Do you wish you could consume the following more often?

0Fruits Vegetables Whole Grains Low-Fat Dairy Lean Protein

20

40

60

80 73

53

38

74

58

For those foods you wished you could consume more often, what keeps you from eating those foods?

0Foods are too

expensiveDon't know how to

prepare themFoods are not available

where I shopI don't like the taste

25

50 47

20

10

26

0Nutrition Taste

20

40

60

80

Age 50-59 Age 60-64 Age 65+

37 42 44

6257 56

0Nutrition Taste

20

40

60

80

Age 50-59 Age 60-64 Age 65+

37 42 44

6257 56

What is more important when considering the foods you purchase?

The cost of food is the largest barrier to consuming foods that individuals want more of.

The vast majority of older adults would like to consume more fruits and vegetables. More than half would also like to consume more whole grains and lean protein.

As we get older, the importance of nutrition increases slightly while the importance of taste also drops slightly.

5AARP Foundation

Individuals over the age of 50 clearly link the choice of foods with maintaining a healthy lifestyle. While taste beats nutrition as the prime factor in food choice, age and gender influence this choice. The fact that persons over 65 show a growing interest in nutrition underscores how older adults link food selection to maintaining their health and remaining independent – two prime concerns for older persons. Respondents are also aware that certain foods are to be consumed more often and many take steps to do so. But barriers remain with the cost of foods being most significant.

Forms – Fresh, Frozen, Canned

This section addresses how consumers perceive the healthfulness of fresh, frozen and canned fruits, vegetables and beans. It also uncovers frequency of use for each form as well as reasons for use.

In general, fresh is perceived as the healthiest form, followed by frozen and then canned. Use of fresh fruits and vegetables is the highest among all forms yet remains low when compared to overall dietary recommendations.

Individuals tend to use fresh because of its health halo and because they like the taste. By contrast, individuals use both frozen and canned primarily because of their long shelf life and easy/quick preparation.

Income also drives consumption of certain forms. Not surprisingly, the use of fresh fruits and vegetables rises with increased income; the converse is true for canned fruits, vegetables and beans. The frozen category is less income driven.

How healthy do you think fresh foods are?

0

30

60

Extremely healthy

31

Very healthy

50

Somewhat healthy

18

Not healthy

0

There is a strong health halo around fresh food, with 81 percent believing fresh foods are either extremely or very healthy.

6AARP Foundation

For each of the following, is it a reason for you to use fresh foods?

0Limited access

to frozen foods

Limited access

to canned foods

Long shelf life

Like the taste of

fresh foods

Lower price than canned or

frozen foods

Fresh foods are healthier

Correct portion size

Less waste Easy/quick preparation

30

60

90

10 10 8

82

16

79

4235

47

Fresh foods are used for a number of reasons, but the two primary factors are taste and healthfulness.

How healthy do you think canned foods are?

0

20

40

60

80

Extremely healthy

1

Very healthy

10

Somewhat healthy

65

Not healthy

26

There is a mixed health perception of canned foods, with 65 percent believing they are somewhat healthy and over one-quarter believing they are not healthy.

For each of the following, is it a reason for you to use canned foods?

0Limited access to fresh foods

Limited access

to frozen foods

Long shelf life

Like the taste of canned foods

Lower price than

fresh or frozen foods

Canned foods are healthier

Correct portion size

Less waste Easy/quick preparation

30

60

90

2618

77

3748

6

3444

82

Canned foods are used for a number of reasons, but the two factors that stand out are long shelf life and easy/quick preparation.

7AARP Foundation

0

20

40

60

Extremely healthy

5

Very healthy

38

Somewhat healthy

53

Not healthy

3

How healthy do you think frozen foods are?

How often do you use these types of foods in preparing meals?

0Canned vegetables daily or a few times

a week

Frozen vegetables daily or a few times

a week

Canned fruits daily or a few times a week

Fresh vegetables daily or a few times a week

Frozen fruits daily or a few times a week

Fresh fruits daily or a few times a

week

20

40

60

80

31

43

20 1818 22 2415

2622

4447 51

61 65

15 149 6 10 8 6 7

189

40 4146

58 59

<$40k $40k-$59.9k $60k-$84.9k $85k-$124.9k $125k+

The health perception of frozen foods is better than canned foods but not as strong as fresh foods. Slightly more than half feel that frozen foods are somewhat healthy; only three percent feel that frozen foods aren’t healthy.

For each of the following, is it a reason for you to use frozen foods?

0Limited access to fresh foods

Limited access

to canned foods

Long shelf life

Like the taste of frozenfoods

Lower price than

fresh or canned foods

Frozen foods are healthier

Correct portion size

Less waste Easy/quick preparation

20

40

80

6032

11

52 50

2938 40

50

73

Frozen foods are used for a number of reasons, but long shelf life and easy/quick preparation stand out as the primary factors. Roughly half of those surveyed noted that the taste and reduced waste are also reasons to use frozen foods.

The type of form used to prepare meals is largely income driven for both canned and fresh foods. Canned food use decreases as income increases whereas fresh food use increases as income rises.

8AARP Foundation

Consumption of fruits and vegetables remains significantly below daily recommendations. More nutrition education is needed about the healthfulness of all forms of foods. In addition, fruit and vegetable incentive programs can be promoted alongside sales, discounts and other offers to make these foods accessible to more people. Particularly since a majority of individuals interviewed want to consume more fruits and vegetables, different avenues and programs should be pursued to ensure greater affordability of these foods. Recipes to enhance the taste of canned and frozen fruits and vegetables may also prove helpful in increasing fruit and vegetable intake.

Nutrition Information

This section addresses the information individuals seek and use when making food choices.

For most shoppers, the primary resource for understanding the content of their foods is the nutrition facts panel on many food items. About two-thirds read this panel sometimes or always, with women more likely than men to always or most of the time read the panel. Only 30 percent consider the nutrition facts panel very easy to understand, while half of the sample considers the panel somewhat easy to understand. Understanding rises with income but declines with age and presents a challenge for organizations dedicated to advancing the wellbeing of older adults.

How frequently do you look at the nutrition facts panel when you are shopping for food?

0All or most of the time Sometimes Once in a while Never

10

20

40

30

34 33

21

11

Nearly 70 percent of those surveyed state that they look at the nutrition facts panel all, most or sometimes when shopping for food.

9AARP Foundation

How easy is it to understand the nutrition facts panel?

70

80

90

Age 50-59 Age 60-64 Age 65+

7776

85

Very or somewhat easy70

80

90

Age 50-59 Age 60-64 Age 65+

7776

85

Very or somewhat easy

Very or somewhat easy

80

75

85

90

7880

81

87

76

70

<$40k $40k-$59.9k $60k-$84.9k $85k-$124.9k $125k+

How easy is it to understand the nutrition facts panel?

Lower income individuals find it more difficult to understand the nutrition facts panel.

Those 60+ find it more difficult to understand the nutrition facts panel compared to 50-59 demographic.

Do you seek out foods that are the following?

0

20

40

60

8064

5665 66

55

67

Age 50-59 Age 60-64 Age 65+

5751

61

Low fat Low sodium Low cholesterol

Large majorities use the nutrition facts panel to make purchasing decisions. While older persons are the group least likely to understand the information on the nutrition fact panel, they are the most likely to say they want to make food choices that reflect lower sodium, lower fat, and lower cholesterol. This disconnect means that the group most likely to want the information on the facts panel are the ones least likely to understand it.

For more information please visit aarpfoundation.org/foodsecurity

AARP Foundation works to ensure that low-income older adults have nutritious food, safe and affordable housing, a steady income, and strong and sustaining social bonds. We collaborate with individuals and organizations who share our commitment to innovation and our passion for problem-solving. Supported by vigorous legal advocacy, we create and advance effective solutions that help struggling older adults transform their lives. AARP Foundation is the charitable affiliate of AARP. Learn more at aarpfoundation.org

Do you seek out foods that are the following?

545865

4657

536261

0Low

sodiumLow fat Low calorie Low

cholesterolLow carb Low sugar High fiber High

protein

20

40

80

60

Majorities seek foods lower in sodium, fat, calories, cholesterol, sugars, and higher in fiber and protein. It is encouraging that seeking out lower sodium, lower fat, and lower cholesterol foods increases with age.

Those in the older age bracket — 65+ — are more likely to seek out foods that are lower in fat, sodium and cholesterol compared to those in both the 50-59 and 60-64 demographic.