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16 June 2010
Mumbai, India
Health for health’s sake is not what Indians go by. Nearly half the Indian consumers (48%) are concerned about their health because of the financial implications of falling ill and 41 percent Indian’s concern is triggered by future repercussions of having poor health today, according to a recent Nielsen Health & Wellness Consumer Survey. We see that amongst the higher age groups and females, ‘weight gain’ brings about a greater concern for health than does coping with demands. However, the younger age groups are concerned about health when they see some reference points like ads about health issues, sick friend, etc.
With growing health consciousness, over half of urban Indians consider themselves overweight. However, despite the weight concerns Dieting is not a health practice that is popular amongst Indians with only 23% having occasionally dieted. 17% of urban Indians are aware of the health indicator BMI.
Nearly five in ten Indians consider Pollution a major factor affecting health. 38 percent Indians believe that bad food habits like consuming junk & oily food and adulterated food have an adverse affect on health and 36 percent believe that bad, irregular habits like consumption of alcohol/cigarettes and lack of exercise & nutritious diet are factors contributing to poor health.
We see a split in attitudes of Indians towards health with 53 percent showing pro-activeness and a slightly lesser 47 percent being passive about their health. According to the Nielsen survey, we notice now more Indians proactively try to maintain health than take care of it when required and try to control food habits and other irregular practices.
“The increasingly hectic lifestyle of Indians is taking a toll on their health, plus the cost of treating an illness has pushed Indians to take proactive steps to maintain their health. Since time is a not a luxury for most Indians today they try to maintain health by controlling food habits,” said Arti Verma, Associate Director, Client Solutions, The Nielsen Company.
What is Good Health & Wellness?
For majority of Indians good health & wellness means having ‘no illnesses’ and more than nine in ten Indians believe so. Other constituents of good health are seen to be “having a fit body” and “having peace of mind”. In the lower age groups we see that having a ‘fit body’ is considered slightly more important to having good health & wellness than ‘peace of mind’.
Health Attributes of Food
When it comes to health attributes of food, sugar-free, whole grain and low-fat are the top three attributes that Indians are aware of, with low-fat seeing the highest level of awareness at 84 percent. Amongst low-fat food items, low-fat milk and low-cholesterol oil have the highest awareness. They are also considered the healthiest. New buzzwords like organic and pro-biotic are yet to catch on among Urban Indians. The awareness of health attributes of foods translate into consideration, though non-consideration is high for pro-biotic and sugar-free foods. At 95 percent whole-grain tops the list of consideration for Indians.
“Nielsen Health & Wellness Consumer study indicates that although a small percentage, but young generation is conscious of their health and pre-disposed to health foods, so targeting them would mean to ‘catch them young’ and getting them hooked to a brand,” said Verma.
About the Health & Wellness Consumer Survey
To understand the ‘Health & Wellness’ space in India, Nielsen launched a syndicated study in December 2009, covering 10 major cities of India. The respondents include SEC A and B, males and females in the age group 18-55 years. A sample of 3248 respondents was surveyed.
About The Nielsen Company
The Nielsen Company is a global information and media company with leading market positions in marketing and consumer information, television and other media measurement, online intelligence, mobile measurement, trade shows and business publications. The privately held company is active in more than 100 countries, with headquarters in New York, USA. For more information, please visit, www.nielsen.com.
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