Dieting - UK - February 2004

Contents

Introduction and Abbreviations

• Definitions
• Consumer research
• ACORN

Abbreviations

Executive Summary

• Taking responsibility for health and the need to diet
• The growing problem of obesity in the UK
• Expenditure on food, reduced fat/reduced calorie food and slimming food
• A growing demand for reduced fat/reduced calorie foods
• Slimming foods are not widely used
• Diet plans and clubs
• Regular exercise is the favoured component of a weight loss regime
• Too much emphasis is placed on appearance
• Fuelling future growth

Influential Factors

• Incidence of being overweight or obese
• Figure 1: Incidence of being overweight or obese among men in England, by age group, 1997 and 2001
• Figure 2: Incidence of being overweight or obese among women in England, by age group, 1997 and 2001
• Health
• Figure 3: Health issues of concern to consumers, September 1998, December 2001 and December 2003
• The consumer and food
• Figure 4: Agreement with lifestyle statements about food and eating habits, 1998-2003
• The incidence of dieting and responsibility for health
• Figure 5: Adults who are trying to slim, 1980-2003
• Figure 6: Agreement with lifestyle statements about diet and health, 1998-2003
• Looks and appearance
• Figure 7: Agreement with lifestyle statements about personal appearance and self-perception, 1998-2003
• Health and fitness: a nation of gym-goers
• Figure 8: Membership of private health and fitness clubs in the UK, 1998-2003
• The holidays incentive
• Figure 9: Frequency of holidays taken abroad and in the UK, September 2002
• The influence of the media and celebrities

Demographic trends

• The influence of population shifts
• Figure 10: Trends and projections in the age structure of the UK male population, 1998-2007
• Figure 11: Trends and projections in the age structure of the UK female population, 1998-2007
• Income and expenditure
• Figure 12: PDI and consumer expenditure, at constant 1998 prices, 1998-2007
• Systems dieting and diet foods

Market Background

• Figure 13: Expenditure on food for in-home consumption, by value, 1998-2003
• Figure 14: Indexed expenditure on food for in-home consumption, 1998-2003
• Reduced fat and reduced calorie foods
• Figure 15: Estimated UK retail sales of RFRC foods, by value, 1998-2003
• Figure 16: Estimated UK retail sales of RFRC foods, by sector and value, 2000 and 2002
• Slimming foods
• Figure 17: UK retail sales of slimming foods, by value, 1998-2003

The Supply Structure

Selected diet plans and clubs

• The Atkins Diet
• Fatmanslim
• The GI Diet
• The New High Protein Healthy Fast Food Diet
• The No-grain Diet
• The pH Diet
• The Rosemary Conley Plan
• Shape-Up
• Slimming World
• The South Beach Diet
• Weight Watchers
• The X-Plan

Dieting on the Internet

Reduced fat/reduced calorie foods

• Slimming Foods

The Consumer

• Usage of diet food/drink products
• Figure 18: Agreement with the statements 'I use diet food and drink products' and 'Most of the time I am trying to lose weight', by gender and age, 2003
• Figure 19: Agreement with the statements 'I use diet food and drink products' and 'Most of the time I am trying to lose weight', by socio-economic status and region, 2003
• Exercise is the preferred method to lose weight
• Figure 20: Action taken to lose weight, October 2003
• Pre-/no family males in a couple consider reduced consumption
• Figure 21: Possible action taken by men to lose weight, October 2003
• Diets/diet foods popular with older women
• Figure 22: Possible action taken by women to lose weight, October 2003
• Scope to increase penetration of RFRC foods among men
• Figure 23: Popular actions taken to lose weight, by gender, age and socio-economic status, October 2003
• Relative affluence linked to usage of a gym
• Figure 24: Popular action taken to lose weight, by presence of children, lifestage and Mintel's Special Groups, October 2003
• Smaller households need to be reached with the diet message
• Figure 25: Popular action taken to lose weight, by marital status, working status and household size, October 2003
• Less strenuous strategies of weight loss pursued in the North?
• Figure 26: Popular action taken to lose weight, by region and ACORN categories, October 2003
• New media and TV well suited to weight loss messages
• Figure 27: Popular action taken to lose weight, by supermarkets regularly used, hours per day spent watching commercial TV and media usage, October 2003
• Women more likely to reduce consumption
• Figure 28: Other popular action taken to lose weight, by gender, age and socio-economic status, October 2003
• Families would pursue a strategy of reduced consumption
• Figure 29: Other popular action taken to lose weight, by presence of children, lifestage and Mintel's Special Groups, October 2003
• Presence of a spouse/partner encourages focus on food consumption
• Figure 30: Other popular action taken to lose weight, by marital status, working status and household size, October 2003
• Relative affluence and reducing consumption
• Figure 31: Other popular action taken to lose weight, by region and ACORN categories, October 2003
• The informed Marks & Spencer shopper
• Figure 32: Other popular action taken to lose weight, by supermarkets regularly used, hours per day spent watching commercial TV and media usage, October 2003
• Over one in three feel that maintaining a sensible weight is important
• Figure 33: Attitudes towards weight loss diets and dieting, October 2003
• Men and women agree that too much attention is paid to diet
• Figure 34: Popular attitudes towards weight loss diets and dieting, by gender, age and socio-economic status, October 2003
• Families are an important target
• Figure 35: Popular attitudes towards weight loss diets and dieting, by presence of children, lifestage and Mintel's Special Groups, October 2003
• Workers feel too much attention paid to diet but likely to act
• Figure 36: Popular attitudes towards weight loss diets and dieting, by marital status, working status and household size, October 2003
• Southerners tiring of the vanity aspect
• Figure 37: Popular attitudes towards weight loss diets and dieting, by region and ACORN categories, October 2003
• Broadsheet readers take a pragmatic view
• Figure 38: Popular attitudes towards weight loss diets and dieting, by supermarkets regularly used, hours per day spent watching commercial TV and media usage, October 2003
• Attitudes and actions taken to lose weight
• Figure 39: Attitudes towards weight loss/dieting according to actions that might be taken to lose weight, October 2003
• Figure 40: Attitudes towards weight loss/dieting according to actions that might be taken to lose weight, October 2003

The Future

• Considerable potential for diet aids...
• ...but convincing consumers will be key to success
• A tougher stance on advertising to children?
• Paying for quick fixes

Forecast

• Scenario 1
• Figure 54: Forecast of dieting typologies, Scenario 1, 2003-07
• Scenario 2
• Figure 55: Forecast of dieting typologies, Scenario 2, 2003-07
• Scenario 3
• Figure 56: Forecast of dieting typologies, Scenario 3, 2003-07

Appendix: Research Methodology