Over the years, Mintel has conducted a large amount of research on health and diet issues: everything from healthy eating to exercise to smoking cessation aids. Research has always focused on consumer attitudes and intentions. However, intentions do not always translate into actions. Therefore, Mintel commissioned a tracking study, following a group of respondents who had expressed a desire to lose weight, get fit, eat more healthily, cut down on alcohol or quit smoking.

This report is the follow-up to Taking Care of Yourself – Winter Edition, published in February 2009.

The purpose of the research was to see how attitudes towards health and fitness evolved in the early months of 2009. How did intentions translate into actions, and what were the key triggers to motivation and temptation? In short, why did some people succeed, and others fail?

Central themes include:

Attitudes towards healthy and healthy lifestyles

Eating habits

Attitudes towards weight and obesity

Motivations for New Year’s resolutions

Sources of temptation

Sources of encouragement

Preferred exercise regimes

Attitudes towards retailers and advertising.

Methodogoly

This is first time that Mintel has ever commissioned a tracking study. Further, this is the first project to use three separate methodologies for primary research. These were:

an online quantitative survey in two waves

a live, consumer-led mobile phone quantitative survey

an asynchronous online discussion group.