Research and Markets : Artificial Sweeteners - A Positive Move in Tackling Obesity or not?

DUBLIN, Ireland -- Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c9173) has announced the addition of Artificial Sweeteners - A Positive Move in Tackling Obesity or not? to their offering

With growing awareness of the link between diet and health and the increasing

publicity being given to the problem of obesity, consumer concern over sugar levels in the diet is another issue that needs to be explored in more depth. Levels of concern need to be gauged, along with reasons for concern and any actions being taken, whether it be by cutting down on sugar, eating more low/reduced-sugar foods, or turning to artificial sweeteners and sugar substitutes.

With this programme of research, the analysts look at UK consumer attitudes to sugar and sweeteners, exploring consumers' understanding of the sugar levels in different foods and drinks, purchase and consumption of reduced-sugar food and drinks, and usage, awareness of and attitudes to artificial sweeteners. This is combined with a review of the retail table-top sweetener market, and end-use market and product trends for key reduced-sugar foods and drinks.

Despite relatively long-standing concerns about the negative effects of sugar on teeth and the more recent publicity given to the rise in obesity, nearly 60% of consumers in new quantitative research thought that they were eating the correct amount of sugar in their diet. In qualitative research, however, it became apparent that there were considerable levels of concern, but these were by far the most evident among mothers with children, who appeared more concerned about limiting sugar intake for their children than for themselves.

The advantages of artificial sweeteners appeared to be fairly well understood and appreciated and included weight loss and prevention of tooth decay. Qualitative research showed that there were also fairly strong negative perceptions, however, particularly amongst those with children, mainly centred on the fact that they did not understand what sweeteners were made of.

In terms of future product trends and developments, a key conclusion from the report is that consumers remain generally positive toward sugar, and either have a fairly negative view of sweeteners, or are concerned that they don't understand enough about them to assess the long-term health implications, particularly for their children, of using them. As a result it would appear that the interest in reducing sugar levels in the diet would perhaps be better achieved by reduction of overall sweetness and sugar levels in foods, or focusing on natural sweetening, or the development of new 'natural' sweeteners where possible, allowing a move away from the term 'artificial' and thus negating the adverse consumer perception of the term.

The report includes a quick-read Executive Summary of the main findings, followed by sections on:

The Consumer

This is based on the results of an extensive programme of original consumer research carried out by LFI. It looks at consumer attitudes to sugar and sweeteners, exploring concerns about sugar levels and the use of artificial sweeteners in the diet; awareness of sugar levels in different foods and drinks, purchase and consumption of reduced-sugar foods and drinks, and usage and awareness of artificial sweetener products and brands.

The research had two main elements:

- An Internet-based omnibus survey of 770 UK consumers, offering insights on concern over levels of sugar in the diet, the health implications of excessive sugar intake, the best ways to cut down on sugar, consumption of artificially sweetened foods and drinks, attitudes to artificial sweetener usage and awareness of sweetener products and brands

- A programme of 4 consumer focus groups, held in 2 different geographical locations, and offering a more detailed qualitative insight into consumer attitudes to sugar and sweeteners, usage levels and concerns for different

family members and age groups, and key positive and negative perceptions of both sugar and artificial sweeteners

The Market

Based on an extensive programme of desk research, this section of the report looks at the market situation for table-top sweeteners and reduced-sugar foods and drinks.

This includes:

- A review of the retail table-top sweetener market in the UK, looking both at sugar and artificial sweeteners and highlighting market size, product trends, current and future outlook and key players and brands. A comparison with trends in other key EU markets is also included.

- A review of end-use market and product trends for key reduced-sugar foods and drinks in the UK, including soft drinks, confectionery, bakery products, fresh dairy products, and jams and sweet spreads. Trends and developments in other key EU markets are also explored.

For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c9173