In the same context as our blog a few days ago ("Eating is Automatic"), the New York-based market research organization NPD reports that dieting is out, and healthy eating is in. While improving overall health was the chief motive for 68% of people who were dieting, this wasn't considered a "healthy" lifestyle in the long-term, whereas healthy eating was. The desire to lose weight - on average a loss of 20 lbs - remains strong in about 60% of responders to the survey. But 80% said they wanted to lose weight and improve their health - suggesting that a healthy weight may not be the same as slimness. Fewer people reported that an overweight person was unattractive than 10 or more years ago.

How do these market research findings fit with the "automatic eating" concept? First, they confirm that dieting isn't really the answer to overweight, even in the eye of the dieter. Second, additional answers showed that price and availability of healthy food (e.g. fresh veggies) can be inhibitory. Portion sizes weren't mentioned, and neither was exercise, but fast-food restaurants were still popular because of convenience. It looks as though the "healthy-eating" change isn't great enough to upset the concept of "automatic eating" - or, as one person calls it, "mindless munching" - as being the root cause of our overweight problems. Now it's just a question of how to address it ...