CHICAGO — Losing weight remains a top goal for half of American adults, according to The NPD Group.
Around 25% of consumers will follow a specific diet plan in 2020, the market research company said, up from approximately 20% in 2016. Top diet plans include the low-carb, high-fat ketogenic or keto diet, and intermittent fasting, an eating pattern that cycles between periods of eating and periods of fasting. Around 5% of consumers follow the keto diet while 4% follow intermittent fasting.
Instead of adhering to a formalized diet or nutrition plan, 16% of consumers said they follow their own diet, which may include a range of personalized dieting patterns. Among the most common are eating more healthful foods and beverages and limiting the amount of food eaten, NPD’s Health Aspirations and Behavioral Tracker Service found. The remaining percentages of consumers who follow a diet plan to lose weight are fragmented across a variety of other diet programs.
“From the standpoint of food manufacturers and food service operators, dieting and trying to lose weight are big consumer behaviors,” said Darren Seifer, food and beverage industry analyst at NPD. “The opportunity is to help consumers follow through on their goals by positioning products and menu items to a specific diet, like keto-friendly, or innovate on new products that deliver on what consumers are looking for in terms of dieting or losing weight.”
Not all consumers seeking healthier options are trying to lose weight, though. NPD also found that close to a quarter of U.S. adults reported being on a nutritional plan with the goal of promoting long-term health, but not necessarily weight loss.
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