(Agen Food) – Bologna, 13 May. – Good food has always been part of Italian culture, with our cuisine being one of the most appreciated in the world. But eating well is also a question of health, as well as taste: are Italians aware of this? And how do they behave regarding their food choices? The latest investigation focuses on this topic of the UniSalute Health Observatorywhich together with Nomisma questioned a sample of 1,200 people about their relationship with food.
The first news is that more and more Italians declare that they follow a diet or a controlled eating regime: if in the survey carried out in 2021 they were less than a third (29%), today they are as many as 51%. However, this percentage is only made up of 19% of those who have relied on a specialist, such as a dietitian or nutritionist, despite 60% of those interviewed declaring themselves interested in being followed by a nutrition professional. Many instead opt for “do-it-yourself” or on the advice of friends and relatives (22%), while in the rest of the cases a specific type of diet was suggested by the general practitioner (6%) or by a personal trainers (4%).
But why follow a diet? The most often cited motivation is feeling good about oneself (46%), together with wanting to keep fit and take care of one’s physical appearance (46%). In the background, but still important, there are issues related to health: from those who want to solve a problem of overweight or obesity (29%), to those who try to prevent diseases and other disorders (25%), or even those who had to change their diet after finding abnormal values in blood tests (22%).
In any case, whether on a diet or not, almost one in two Italians (46%) say they have eaten in a healthier and more balanced way in the last year, and 55% consider good eating habits a fundamental aspect of their health . The Mediterranean diet is very widespread, with 45% indicating it as the eating style most similar to their own. Followed, at a certain distance, by low-calorie diets (13%), personalized diets based on your specific needs (12%) and high-protein diets (9%). However, 5% of those interviewed describe themselves as vegan or vegetarian.
Despite the increasingly frenetic pace of life, seven out of ten Italians (70%) reveal that they eat home-cooked food at all or almost all meals. Around one in three (32%) also consumes ready-to-eat or reheated foods at least 2 or 3 times a week, while only 16% say they use takeaway or delivery services at least 2 or 3 times a week.
