June 13, 2024
Abacus Data conducted a nationwide survey earlier this year (1,500 Canadian adults from February 29 to March 6, 2024) to explore health perceptions among Canadians.
The findings from this study underscore the impact of cultural trends and advances in scientific knowledge, often reflected in national guidelines. But they also show differing perceptions and views on some items and large generational differences.
Canadians were asked which of the two behaviors is healthier. Overall, there is broad health consensus on the health benefits of getting a solid 8 to 9 hour sleep at night (instead of short naps during the day), the benefits of a balanced blend of plant and animal proteins for a healthy diet (instead of vegetable proteins). only egg-based), and prefer cooking with olive oil (instead of vegetable oil), eating whole eggs (instead of just egg whites) and using butter (instead of margarine). Eating many small meals throughout the day (69%) is also seen as healthier than eating larger meals in a shorter period of time, while eating an hour before bed (58%) is generally considered unhealthy.
When asked more specifically, while most consider it unhealthy to skip breakfast (65%), there is less consensus on whether a muffin and orange juice is a healthy breakfast. While 45% agree that this is a healthy breakfast, 30% think it is neither healthy nor unhealthy, and 23% unhealthy.
Similarly, most think taking daily multivitamins is a healthy behavior (70%), while more people think it is healthier to get nutrients solely from a healthy diet than from taking supplements. But one in three Canadians think it is healthier to take supplements and not just rely on a healthy diet to get nutrients.
Differences in health perceptions: cultural and social contexts
The perception of what constitutes a healthy lifestyle is often shaped by the campaigns, especially national guidelines, and by the health information to which individuals were exposed during their formative years. For example, in the 1980s, government advice focused on low-carbohydrate and low-fat diets, advising against the consumption of cholesterol.
Newer research, which has questioned the negative effects of carbohydrates and fat, especially cholesterol, has shifted emphasis in national guidelines. Today, scientific and government advice focuses on the negative effects of ultra-processed foods and emphasizes the importance of labelling.
Younger adults are also more likely to be exposed to health information via the internet and social media, shared by influencers and health gurus, who have created new “diet cultures.”
Our research shows that older people (62%) are likely to find it healthier to follow a low-carb diet, while younger people are more likely to consider a diet low in ultra-processed foods to be healthier. This likely reflects younger people’s exposure to recent campaigns prioritizing local and organic produce over ultra-processed foods.
Similarly, older people view cutting out fats as healthier, likely reflecting their exposure to the “war on fat” messages. People over 60 are significantly more likely (74%) to say that cutting as much fat as possible from your diet is healthy, while only 50% of people under 60 feel this way.
Older people (79%) also view dairy consumption as healthier compared to younger adults (56%), likely reflecting extensive milk and dairy promotion campaigns and messaging about bone strength and other benefits.
Generational differences also extend to exercise preferences: Younger people (41%) view strength training as healthier, compared to older adults (15%). Conversely, older adults (85%) are more likely to consider cardio exercise healthier than younger age groups (59%).
Gender differences in health perceptions also reveal different preferences. Women (76%) consider consuming daily multivitamins to be healthier than men (66%), and are more likely to emphasize the health benefits of fermented foods (36%) than men (26%).
In contrast, men are slightly more likely to consider drinking a glass of wine (36%) or consuming sugar-free drinks such as soft drinks (23%) as healthy than women (28% and 17% respectively).
As with generational differences, gender preferences also extend to the perception of exercise. Although both men and women consider low-intensity workouts healthier than high-intensity workouts, women (71%) are more likely to consider low-intensity workouts healthier than men (63%). Conversely, men (37%) are more likely to perform high-intensity workouts than women (29%).
Finally, health perceptions not only reveal current trends, but also expose gaps in public awareness. When asked whether drinking a glass of wine a day is healthy, the majority of people (39%) think it is neither healthy nor unhealthy, while 5% are not sure. Alcohol consumption guidelines have changed in recent years, which may contribute to a lack of consensus.
People are also the most unsure about the health effects of newer trends, such as regularly eating fermented foods (16% don’t know) and fasting 14 to 16 hours a day (8%).
In particular, the likelihood that fermented foods are perceived as healthy increases as education level and income increase. Individuals with a college education are the most likely to find fermented food healthy (38%) and the least unaware of its benefits (12%), while those with a high school education or less are the least likely to find it healthy (24%) and most probably not aware (19%).
The difference is similar when it comes to income. Individuals earning more than $150,000 are most likely to find fermented foods healthy (36%) and least likely to be unaware of the benefits (10%), while those earning less than $150,000 are least likely to find them healthy (29%) and most likely unlikely to be aware (18%).
The result
The answer to the question of “what is healthy” is dynamic and evolves over time as scientific understanding, societal norms, and cultural influences change. In particular, there is a clear generational gap in the perception of health, reflecting the profound impact of historical context on individuals’ views on health and well-being. While older adults are more likely to emphasize the importance of low-carb and low-fat diets, younger adults find low-ultra-processed foods more beneficial.
This gap in our understanding of nutrition is further reflected in other preferences, such as exercise, the consumption of certain foods (such as dairy or butter) and the focus on certain benefits, such as reducing fats.
Because social and cultural contexts influence the perception of health, gender, education and income also play a role. Familiarity with emerging nutritional research, such as the use of fermented foods, illustrates the differential exposure of certain demographic groups to “what’s healthy.”
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