January 12th, 2024, Lesley Simeon
Vegan, keto, low-carb, liquid or detox - there’s no shortage of diet plans to follow as people step into a new year with renewed vigor for getting into better physical shape or perhaps, tend to a certain medical condition. But when people take up new diets, do their family or friends they live with follow suit?
A recent YouGov survey asked consumers across 17 international markets exactly this question. Polling data shows that more than two in five consumers (44%) say that people they live with don’t follow suit - and have their own dietary preferences. Nearly two in ten consumers (19%) say some members of their family follow the same diet and over one in ten consumers (12%) say that everyone in their household follows the same diet.
Everyone follows the same diet
Fewer than a quarter of consumers in Hong Kong (23%) say everyone in their household - friends or family - follows the same diet, followed by Indians (19%) and Swedes (16%). On the other end, Denmark (7%) and Indonesia (7%) are markets where households are least likely to follow the same dietary preferences.
Some members follow the same diet
Nearly four in ten consumers (38%) in India say some, but not all members of their household follow the same diet - the most likely across all our markets to say so. Consumers in the UAE (36%) and Hong Kong (36%) closely follow. In Europe, Italy accounts for the largest proportion of consumers (20%) who say some, but not all members of the household follow the same diets. Another European market, Denmark (9%) accounts for the lowest proportion of consumers across all markets to agree.
People I live with have their own dietary preferences
Nearly three in five consumers in Indonesia (56%) say people in their household have their own dietary preferences. Mexicans (53%), Singaporeans (52%) and the Spanish (51%) follow Indonesians.
Within the US, consumers are most likely to say everyone in their household follows their own diets (44%). It’s a similar story in Great Britain - Brits (47%) are most likely to say the same.
Significant proportions of consumers in Hong Kong and Sweden (31%) also say that people in their household have their own dietary preferences - yet, the public in these two markets are the least likely across all markets to members of their household follow their individual diets.
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Methodology: YouGov Surveys: Serviced provide quick survey results from nationally representative or targeted audiences in multiple markets. The data is based on surveys of adults aged 18+ years in 17 markets with sample sizes varying between 501 and 2004 for each market. All surveys were conducted online in October 2023. Data from each market uses a nationally representative sample apart from Mexico and India, which use urban representative samples, and Indonesia and Hong Kong, which use online representative samples. Learn more about YouGov Surveys: Serviced.
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