News

Survey: Millennials want to eat healthier

November 22, 2013

A new joint survey conducted by Subway Restaurants and MTV explored the eating habits of Millennials. According to the results, 80 percent of consumers in this demographic admit that while they sometimes eat healthy foods, they don't go out of their way to avoid unhealthy foods.

Additionally, one-third of respondents said they have either pressured others or have been pressured by peers for not eating healthy.

Millennials said they believe dinner is the most important meal of the day. However, six out of 10 polled said life is too busy to follow a regular meal schedule.

Other highlights from the survey include:

Health vs. Hunger

• Nine out of 10 respondents think "it's important to be conscious of what they put in their body."
• Eight out of 10 respondents describe their eating habits as "having room for improvement" and they "sometimes eat healthy foods, but don't avoid the bad ones"
• Nearly half of respondents (45 percent) favor the "I eat whenever I'm hungry" approach to eating while others count calories (7 percent) or utilize portion control (7 percent) when it comes to regulating food intake.
• Half of all respondents say that taste is the most critical factor when choosing a quick-service restaurant, with value, cleanliness, variety and nutritional transparency rounding out the top five, respectively.

Peer pressures

• One-third of respondents say they have either been pressured by peers or have pressured others for not eating healthy.
• Approximately 40 percent of people surveyed felt guilty after eating unhealthy food when dining out, while others (11 percent) eat healthy "so friends won't criticize me."
• One-third of Millennials noted that healthy eating has become a trend amongst friend circles.
• 52 percent of Millennials polled cite their reasoning for eating healthy is "to look good."
• Nearly two-thirds of respondents (60 percent) agreed their personal views on healthy eating differed in comparison to their parents.

Read more about trends and statistics.