This report looks at consumers’ attitudes and behaviors related to dieting, both for health benefits and for weight control. Doctors, weight loss clinics/systems and the popular media have championed a number of diets from sugar-free to low-carb. Consumers try each diet fad as it emerges on the scene. This report explores the many types of popular diets, how much consumers know about them, and their varying experiences with each. This report also explores the attitudes and habits of consumers who don’t diet at all.

The findings suggest that consumers who “diet,” or limit their food intake in some way, do not follow a systematic plan. Rather, they rely on their knowledge and intuition to decide on a personalized plan for themselves. The tendency for dieters to “make up” their own diet plans gives them the control to decide when to follow it. More than half of Mintel respondents who are “dieters” consider themselves neither strict nor lax when it comes to their eating plans.

As the population ages, dieting for benefits beyond just weight control becomes even more important. Some 81% of Mintel respondents aged 65+ are at least familiar--if not using--a “heart healthy” diet, a figure that compares to 70% of all respondents. Meanwhile, Hispanic respondents are significantly less likely than average to have experience/knowledge of these diets (58%). This suggests that manufacturers and retailers of heart healthy products should make an extra effort to reach this audience, which has higher obesity rates than average and is therefore more likely than average to be at risk for heart disease.

In this report, Mintel clearly identifies the principal external factors driving or curtailing growth. Exclusive consumer research reveals the attitudes, needs and behavior of consumers, with analysis broken down both by demographic characteristics, and by segment.

The following diet plans are discussed in this report:

Low fat diets

Atkins Diet

Calorie counting diets

“Heart healthy” diets

South Beach diet

Diets based on one type of food

Detox diets

Mediterranean Diet

Zone Diet

“Sugar Busters” diet

Sonoma Diet

The Abs Diet

The 3-Hour Diet