Contents
84% of our compatriots are unhappy with the way they eat. Answering questions from Psychologies, they shared with us their experiences and doubts, talked about their habits and desires. Before you – the most basic numbers and comments on them.
Victoria, 23, journalist “I invite friends to dinner”
“Until the age of twenty, I didn’t know how to cook at all: after each successive attempt, traces of dough and borscht remained throughout the kitchen – which, moreover, also turned out to be tasteless. Then I tried to improvise, not understanding the intricacies of the process. Over time, it dawned on me: you can start creating when you have already mastered the basics of cooking. For the first time, the idea to invite friends and cook something tasty for them appeared when I had no time for rest: I combined work with study, and there was almost no time to meet friends. Cooking has become a way to relax, a kind of meditation. In the kitchen, thoughts willy-nilly switch to cooking: slicing celery, you keep in mind that in two minutes it’s time to turn off the oven. Now I regularly host dinner parties for friends. For their sake, I am looking for interesting recipes. About a week in advance, I send out an invitation with a rough menu. When everyone gathers, before I put the dish on the table, I present it: I tell where it was invented, what it is made of, where the ingredients came from. I like dishes with history. For example, I recently made Guinness Pie, a covered meat and tomato pie. In Victorian England, where this recipe was invented, sanitation was not very good, so the meat was stewed with beer. After the micro-presentation, we start eating: we discuss the appearance, aroma and flavors. This is very close. Dinner is a good opportunity to meet. Thanks to them, we began to get together more often. In good weather, we transfer the meal to nature: we go out for a picnic to some picturesque corner, where everyone brings what they have cooked at home.
Most of us are interested in nutrition issues. 60% of the women who took part in the study (and 70% of Psychologies readers) are convinced that they are familiar with the principles of healthy eating, but only 19% (and 27% of readers) believe that they build their diet absolutely correctly, and 34% are worried about this constantly. What feelings and emotions does this, in essence, a simple everyday ritual – eating food – evoke in us? We worry about the quality of products, complain about the lack of time, take care of our own health and the health of our children… But, fortunately, we still strive to enjoy food!
Confused Consumers…
“Information on food packages is not always clear and comprehensive.” The path of any product to our plate begins with a supermarket shelf. “I always carefully study the text on the package,” admits one of the survey participants. – In doing so, I try to read the entire list of ingredients used in the production of this product. I need to know what my family eats every day and what it’s made of.” 87% of customers are interested in such information. First of all, we pay attention to the shelf life of the product (its freshness), and in addition, to the content of fats, sugar, calories, the presence of food additives and preservatives. Many of us (53,7%) find that information about products on labels is lacking, sometimes significantly. “Information is never clear enough. One gets the impression that they write not for the convenience of buyers (it is sometimes impossible to make out the font), but from the need to comply with the legislative norm.” We also have the feeling that we are being manipulated with the help of this information. “I think many manufacturers themselves choose what to write on the label, and what to keep silent about in order to sell anything – promise, lure, even deceive.” “It’s funny, really, when vegetable oil is written “without cholesterol” as a kind of bonus – although this product does not and cannot have any cholesterol.”
“I’m not always sure which is the best choice.” Not only the information on the packages causes confusion, but also the choice of products. There are not just a lot of them, but too many! On the one hand, we are happy with diversity: today you can find almost everything in stores, cook a lot of interesting dishes – we have freedom of choice, and this gives a feeling of comfort. “Manufacturers are taking into account the needs of those who want to lose weight or not gain extra pounds by offering “light” products or products without sugar,” said one participant in the survey. According to another, “it’s nice to see what people think about healthy eating or fasting.” We also like the fact that the same product can almost always be found in different price categories: premium – in luxury packaging, mid-range and cheap, in economy packaging or under the brand name of the store. “I’m happy that you can save money without sacrificing quality.”
Some are confused by the “many useless or low-quality products”, as well as the “excessive number of items – for example, dairy products”, which makes it difficult to choose. “It’s hard for me to choose. As a result, I take the same thing all the time, and sometimes I buy I don’t know what, and then I get upset and have to throw it away. ” Our biggest regret is the replacement of simple, traditional products with ready-to-eat “something-flavored” products, which are on the rise. “As a rule, they are not very tasty – fatty or, on the contrary, too low-fat, oversalted – but always in beautiful, enticing packages.” “Advertising constantly inspires us to buy something unnecessary or even harmful. It is difficult to walk past the shelf and not take anything, desire often takes precedence over common sense.
… who know the feeling of guilt …
“After work, I cook something in a hurry.” When it comes to cooking, many of us experience stress. Thus, almost 60% of women admit that they do not have enough time to prepare meals, and 39,8% complain that they often have a snack on the go. “At work, I most often intercept something while pouring myself tea and not even looking up from the computer screen.”
“I eat too fast.” Many women admit to feeling guilty about eating hastily. And since more than 90% of them appreciate the atmosphere at the table, their feelings only increase. Many are aware of the importance for the family of the ritual of a joint meal (“this is the only moment of the day when everyone gets together”) and understand that it is better to eat slowly (“if you eat thoughtfully, then the food is better absorbed and the person gets better less”), but they complain about the fact that due to lack of time they cannot always follow these principles themselves and teach children to them. Most of us consider a good lunch to be one that takes place in a pleasant environment, consists of balanced and tasty dishes prepared from fresh ingredients … In short, the mission is almost impossible!
…who often worry…
. It seems that for many of us, food has become a constant source of stress. The situation looks paradoxical: 90% of women claim that they do not adhere to a certain diet, but 95% avoid eating at least one certain food, and 75% categorically do not use it. 30,1% never eat later than 3 hours before bedtime; 65,2% are convinced that “a woman should control the amount of calories consumed”, while 66,2% admit that they “love sweets” …
“I’m afraid that my child will have health problems and be overweight.” Is it any wonder that most of us (84,6%) feel that they are not eating well enough and worry about it! And when it comes to children’s nutrition, the concern only increases. Many mothers are afraid of snacking between meals (68,1%), and for 67,7% the main source of anxiety is the school canteen. According to them, eating outside the home, the child receives too much fatty, sweet and too few vegetables and fruits. Inedible, skipped or, conversely, swallowed meals, preservatives, dyes and “other chemicals” … Mothers worry that all this can lead to the formation of bad eating habits, cause a variety of eating disorders, as well as cause excess weight or health problems. To avoid this, most consider it necessary to instill in their children a taste for proper food. “There are many temptations in adolescence, and sometimes children cannot resist them,” one of the survey participants notes. And another says: “Regarding healthy nutrition, my daughter will give a lecture herself …” In general, we treat the tastes of our children with care and respect: 49,2% try to take into account the opinion of the child when compiling the menu, and 45,3% always do it .
… but still consider food above all a pleasure!
“I love experimenting with cooking.” Fortunately, despite all the worries, we still love to eat with taste. For 70,7%, food is “first of all pleasure”, and for 18% it still remains one, although it is a cause for stress. “Life is too short to limit yourself to delicious food” – 63,7% of respondents are convinced of this. We love to cook, “think and invent new recipes, choose products, try, gather around a beautifully laid table…” And yet we want and strive to live with taste!
In an Internet survey commissioned by Psychologies from Tiburon Research in February this year, 1358 residents of large Russian cities aged 18 to 60 took part, including 759 readers of the magazine.
Do you look for specific product information on the label when you shop? (%)
- Yes, always 45,6
- Yes, sometimes 41,3
- Yes, rarely 9,8
- No, never 2,8
- Difficult to answer 0,5
What do you think in general about the information presented on the product label? (%)
- There are too many of her 3,3
- Enough 42,9
- Not enough 50,4
- Very insufficient3,4
Do you have enough time to cook complete meals? (%)
- Quite enough 41,1
- Not quite 47,3
- Not enough at all 11,6
Is the atmosphere at the family table important to you? (%)
- Yes, of course 55,4
- Rather yes 35,9
- Rather no 7,5
- Not at all 1,2
As a percentage of the number of respondents.