WASHINGTON, Dec. 30, 2014 – Kale and coconut – and a lot
more health news, much of it misleading.
They’re just a few trends consumers can look forward to in
2014, according to a survey of more than 500 registered dietitians by nutrition
trade magazine Today’s Dietitian and
public relations firm Pollock Communications. The report identifies 14 top diet
trends for 2014 – and points to the decidedly mercurial nature of the U.S.
consumer.
Take trends 12 and 14, for example. Number 12 posits that Americans
are becoming complacent about bulging waistlines, with 44 percent of
respondents agreeing that “consumers are becoming OK with an unhealthy weight.”
But the public also has an “insatiable appetite” for diet
and nutrition information, survey respondents said. Some 66 percent of them
forecast an increased interest in nutrition and weight loss in 2014.
Winners among the trends include: “ancient grains” like quinoa,
amaranth, spelt and Kamut; kale; coconut oil; chia seeds; and TV doctors and
chefs, who increasingly show up on U.S. sets to peddle their diet wares.
Consumers will also continue to turn to bloggers –- be they credentialed
dietitian s, so-called “mommy bloggers” or lifestyle experts -– for nutrition
and health information.
Losers could include a variety of disparate trends and food
products, including fact-based information, “low fat” labels and wheat.
About two-thirds of those surveyed say nutrition information
is often “based on personal beliefs and half-truths rather than published
peer-reviewed research,” and 75 percent say the flow of misinformation will probably
continue in 2014.
Misinformation could be lending itself to a growing
anti-wheat sentiment, the dietitians say. Fad, wheat-free food crazes like the
Paleo diet (which urges adherents to eat unprocessed foods, mimicking the
habits of cavemen) and gluten-free will be popular in 2014.
“Despite the lack of evidence to support wheat- or
gluten-elimination diets for weight loss or health – not associated with a clinical disorder or
disease –- consumers are still looking for ways to control their weight," said
Jenna Bell, senior vice president of food and wellness at Pollock
Communications.
For a full list of 14 diet trends of 2014, click here.
#30
For more news, visit www.agri-pulse.com.