American Dietetic Association Survey Finds Public's Awareness of Functional Foods Lags Far Behind Nutrition and Health Professionals

American Dietetic Association Survey Finds Public's Awareness of Functional Foods Lags Far Behind Nutrition and Health Professionals

FOR RELEASE JANUARY 3, 2000

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AMERICAN DIETETIC ASSOCIATION SURVEY FINDS PUBLIC'S AWARENESS OF FUNCTIONAL FOODS LAGS FAR BEHIND NUTRITION AND HEALTH PROFESSIONALS

CHICAGO — Functional foods may be a hot topic among nutrition researchers, dietetics professionals and food manufacturers, but according to the American Dietetic Association's new national public opinion survey, Nutrition and You: Trends 2000, they do not enjoy the same level of awareness among the general public.

ADA's Nutrition and You: Trends 2000, which tracks Americans' attitudes and knowledge of many different aspects of food and nutrition, contained questions this year for the first time on functional foods.

Functional foods are generally defined as foods containing health benefits in addition to their nutritional content - such as margarines with cholesterol-lowering ingredients.

Nutrition scientists have termed functional foods the leading trend in the food industry, with the potential to have a significant effect on people's health. Even so, ADA's survey found just one in five respondents — 21 percent — had heard of functional foods and that the phrase has little meaning for consumers.

Asked for their definition of functional foods, 68 percent said they are foods that are "healthy" or "good for you." Seventeen percent defined functional foods as providing energy or helping in athletic performance.

"The fact that functional foods are thought of in those ways does make sense, even if people are still not sure exactly what the phrase means," says Tucson, Ariz., registered dietitian and ADA spokesperson Cyndi Thomson.

"Many of the first functional foods were in the form of athletic beverages and meal bars," Thomson says. "In recent years, the supply of functional foods has expanded well beyond those items."

The 70,000-member American Dietetic Association is the world's largest organization of food and nutrition professionals. The Chicago-based ADA serves the public by promoting optimal nutrition, health and well-being. For the most timely, complete food and nutrition information, visit ADA's Web site.

Editor's note: For more information about ADA's Nutrition and You: Trends 2000 survey, for a copy of the full results or to interview an ADA spokesperson, contact ADA's Public Relations Team at 800/877-1600, ext. 4802, 4894 or 4769.

Survey results are based on telephone interviews with a nationally representative sample of 792 adults conducted in October 1999 by Wirthlin Worldwide. The survey has a confidence interval of plus-or-minus 3.5 percent in 95 out of 100 cases.