Stress, universal barrier to physical and mental health

Kantar’s Worldpanel released its Who Cares? Who Does? Health: Decoding Wellness report on global wellness trends. The study draws insights from over 103,000 people across 35 markets in four continents to uncover consumer behaviours and attitudes towards global mental and physical health, including:

• A strong gap between what people say and what they do: While 78% of people believe they are responsible for their health, less than half proactively engage with their physical health, and even fewer invest effort into their mental wellbeing.
• Stress is a dominant barrier to health and triggers a negative health spiral: 61% view stress as a negative factor on health.
• Cost is a factor influencing healthy consumer choices: 52% of people cite the high cost of healthier options as the main reason they don’t buying them.
• Unbalanced diets present the highest say-do gap: 62% see processed food as harmful, but only 37% say they actively avoid it.
• The study covers 35 markets, including Saudi Arabia (KSA), United Arab Emirates (UAE), Egypt, Morocco, South Africa, Nigeria, and Kenya.

The gap between intention and action

Most people around the world believe they’re the ones responsible for their own health. But they’re not acting on their beliefs: just 51% of people proactively engage with their physical health and only 48% work towards their mental wellbeing. In fact, only 56% of people globally feel they are doing well or very well on both physical and mental health fronts.

It’s not just consumers that have a part to play in maintaining health and wellbeing. Nearly half of people (49%) think brands should play a role in ensuring a healthier lifestyle and 47% expect government policy support for better health.

Sleep targeted to combat stress, but excessive screen time still plagues many

More than three in five consumers (61%) identified stress as a significant health barrier. This is creating a vicious cycle: stress leads to poor eating habits, which makes managing weight harder, which in turn adds more stress. It is a universal concern which consumers say is as much a mental challenge as a physical one.

Many know they need to turn to improved sleep habits to combat this: 45% of consumers recognise that going to bed early is crucial to reducing stress, though less than two thirds (63%) of people regularly get a good night’s sleep. This could be down to prolonged screen time, which only a third of people are actively limiting – despite many expressing a desire to disconnect.

Alternative weight management strategies are taking hold

Weight management poses a key challenge for people, with 38% of consumers indicating it impacts their health negatively. Traditional strategies such as avoiding high calorie, processed products (used by 71% of people) and exercise (used by 47% of people) remain popular. However, new tools such as dietary monitoring apps are now reaching 8% of consumers globally, and there is also a small but growing awareness of pharmaceutical solutions like GLP-1 obesity medications.

Karan Gupta, Regional Director, Consumer & Shopper Insights (PanelVoice),  Africa & Middle East, Worldpanel Division, Kantar said: “GLP-1 medications like Ozempic and Wegovy are currently only used by 3% of shoppers, but that’s a big number for three reasons: first, consider how new they are to the market. Second, shortages may well be limiting supply in some regions. And third, we know that high costs are a barrier for many people interested in trying these products. While these drugs are often referenced as a celebrity trend, these figures are definitely indicating an openness among normal people to exploring newer approaches to weight management.”

Embedded snack culture adds to a reliance on processed foods and sugary beverages

An unbalanced diet, influenced by reliance on processed foods and sugary beverages, is recognised by three in ten people as detrimental to health. Yet while 62% see processed food as harmful, only 37% actively avoid it. It’s a similar pattern for sugary drinks: 73% see them as harmful, but fewer than half (48%) are cutting back on products high in sugar.

One reason for the strong draw of processed foods and sugary drinks is a snack culture that has taken over the market. Savoury snacks and carbonated soft drinks have the highest product penetration of the FMCG product categories at 90% and 77% respectively; the prevalence and accessibility of these products makes it more challenging for consumers to avoid them, as does the fact that more than two thirds of people say it’s important to regularly indulge in a treat.

Consumers feel they’re being priced out of making the right choices

Cost holds a strong influence over people’s ability to choose healthy products. More than half of people (52%) cite the high cost of healthier options as the main barrier to buying them. Meanwhile, a lack of trust and confusion about what constitutes truly healthy packaged foods also prevents consumers from being able to make healthy choices.

Karan Gupta said: “People want to do better but are caught in cycles of stress, unhealthy eating habits, and barriers to effective weight management, which are often exacerbated by high costs. Brands have a critical opportunity to make a difference. By tackling affordability, convenience, transparency, and emotional needs, they can bridge the gap between how people want to live and their reality, helping improve health outcomes for people around the world.”

For more information, read Who Cares? Who Does? Health: Decoding Wellness here

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