There’s a desire among US consumers to use food as a means of managing their health, based on findings from a Deloitte Center for Health Solutions survey. The survey reveals that 76% of Americans would prefer to use food over prescription medications to support their health, regardless of age, household income, insurance status, or health condition. While medications remain essential and valuable, nutrition is increasingly being recognized as a vital part of overall health management. Some diabetes, and cardiovascular disease are most prevalent in rural, inner-city, and lower-income areas, due in part to limited access to affordable or accessible healthy food.6 Recent findings from Pew Research Center indicate that about 70% of Americans say the rising cost of healthy food has made it more difficult to maintain a healthy diet. This sentiment is more common among lower-income individuals, with 77% expressing this concern compared to 54% of higher-income individuals.7
In addition to broader economic challenges, healthy foods tend to be more expensive than unhealthy options because of transportation costs, limited shelf life, and supply chain complexities.8 For instance, fish, meat, and certain types of fresh produce require refrigeration and frequent restocking, unlike more processed, shelf-stable options.
Moreover, information about the nutritional value of food—from product packaging, marketing, and nutrition labels to news reports and <a var totallength='$(".cmp-di-sectional-divider").length;' dividerhasnopaddingfooterancestor='$divider.closest(".cmp-di-cta__container").length' if else function try iframebody="this.contentWindow.document.body;" contentheight='$(iframeBody).prop("scrollHeight");' catch cross-origin restriction: cannot resize console.warn access iframe contents due to policy. clearinterval close button .toc-modal-close event.preventdefault untrapfocus count="0;" actionafteroneminute console.log trapfocus const textarea input select firstfocusable="$focusableEls.first()[0];" lastfocusable="$focusableEls.last()[0];" e.keycode="==" shift tab e.preventdefault lastfocusable.focus preventscroll: true firstfocusable.focus null e.key="==" window.addeventlistener return event.data.surveystatus completed="true;" settimeout>
