Health and Fast Food

A spate of new "healthy" fast food items have recently been released.

June 11/Chicago/Huffington Post -- A spate of new "healthy" fast food items have recently been released. Research has shown that these items may boost profits, and recent sales data proves that more people are purchasing healthier items. But how much is this increase exactly? A new study by The NPD Group found that, while over 50% of adults say they eat healthy meals always or most of the time at home, only 25% say they eat healthy foods when they go out to restaurants.

The study, "Healthy at Foodservice--Consumer Expectations Put In Perspective" surveyed 5,178 consumers who visited a foodservice establishment in the past three months. The survey was conducted from May 1 to May 13, 2013.

Of those consumers not ordering healthily when they dine out, 37% said that when they go out to eat, “I want to eat what I want to eat,” and 23% said that “I want to indulge when I go out to eat.”

“The bottom line is that even with an increasing number of restaurants offering healthier menu items or posting calories and other nutritional information, at the end of the day, consumers see dining out as a treat, an indulgence,” said Bonnie Riggs, NPD restaurant industry analyst, in a press release.

For those 25% of adults who try to eat healthy out of the home, they have varying strategies to how they order. Some 39% choose to have a salad as a meal, and 38% skip dessert.