Three quarters of Germans against food bans
Instead, a desire for more information on healthy eating
More information, but no bans - that's what Germans want when it comes to healthy eating. According to a recent survey by mhplus Krankenkasse, almost 80 percent of Germans would like to eat more healthily. Two thirds would like to know more about this. However, the majority reject government restrictions such as bans on advertising or sweets. More than 1,000 German adults took part in the representative survey in June 2024.
If you eat healthily, you are healthy: "Our health, performance and well-being depend crucially on our diet," explains Christine Albrecht, Head of Health Promotion at mhplus Krankenkasse. In a recent mhplus study, Germans were asked about incentives to eat more healthily. Even though the majority of respondents (71 percent) are aware of the importance of a healthy diet for a long life, there is still room for improvement when it comes to implementation: Almost 8 out of 10 German citizens (77 percent) would like to eat more healthily. This wish is particularly strong among the younger 18 to 39-year-olds, where the figure is over 87%.
Younger people in particular would like more information
Younger Germans in particular would also like more information on healthy eating: Up to 79 percent of 18 to 39-year-olds say yes. Overall, the majority of all respondents (65%) would like more information on healthy eating.
"It is well known that unhealthy eating habits creep in during childhood and manifest themselves in adolescence. By imparting knowledge early on, people develop healthy eating habits in the long term," says Christine Albrecht. With offers such as weight coaching for children or a knowledge portal, mhplus supports the whole family in healthy eating.
Germans lack specific information, especially in everyday life: despite aids in the shops such as Nutri-Score or nutritional value tables, 60 percent of adults often find it difficult to distinguish which foods are healthy and which are unhealthy. This was particularly confirmed by senior citizens over the age of 70 (70 percent) in the survey.
The majority reject bans
Even though they would like more information, 73% of respondents are convinced that they know best how to eat healthily themselves and do not need any government restrictions: They generally reject bans on food. Only 42% say that bans on explicitly unhealthy foods such as sweets would help them to eat better. The younger generations are somewhat less negative here: up to 52% of those under 40 would find such a ban helpful. More than half of respondents (52%) also reject a ban on advertising for foods such as sweets.
Online survey with over 1,000 Germans
The representative study on healthy eating was conducted online on behalf of mhplus in June 2024 with 1,011 German citizens between the ages of 18 and 79. Ten statements had to be answered with a two-stage "agree" or "disagree" response. Demographic data such as gender, age, education and marital status were also surveyed anonymously.
Note: This article has been translated using a computer system without human intervention. LUMITOS offers these automatic translations to present a wider range of current news. Since this article has been translated with automatic translation, it is possible that it contains errors in vocabulary, syntax or grammar. The original article in German can be found here.
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