Global: Fitness and diet tracking

Data from YouGov Profiles allows us to explore how the general public track their fitness and diet in five global markets. Now, in most cases, our research shows that a majority simply don’t bother: seven in ten Britons (71%), two-thirds of Germans (64%) and nearly three in five Australians (56%) and Americans (58%) don’t track their food/drink intake or exercise, and nor do two in five urban Indian consumers (39%).

But a significant proportion of consumers are using apps to track their health. When it comes to fitness trackers, a third (34%) are using them in India – again, it’s worth stressing this is an urban sample where the rest are nationally representative – compared to a quarter (24%) in Australia and the US (23%). Nearly a fifth (17%) say the same In Great Britain and Germany.

Across all markets, people are significantly less likely to track their diets and food intake. Again, India comes top (26%), compared to over one in nine in the US (12%) and Australia (13%). Fewer than one in ten Britons (6%) and Germans (8%) count their calories via an app.

The humble spreadsheet is less popular: just 3% of Britons, 4% of Americans, and 6% of Germans and Australians use them to track health. That said, 14% of urban Indian consumers do use Excel to manage their exercise.

Methodology

YouGov Profiles is based on continuously collected data and rolling surveys, rather than from a single limited questionnaire. Profiles data is nationally representative and weighted by age, gender, education, region, and race. Learn more about Profiles.