Who Is Responsible? U.S. and U.K. Differ
NEW YORK, July 6 /PRNewswire/ -- A global study conducted by Universal McCann last week reveals that U.S. adults are accepting personal responsibility for the obesity epidemic. The British share blame with food manufacturers. The study was conducted using Universal McCann's InTuition(TM) research tool and took place in 10 major markets around the world. The U.K. and U.S. results are being released today.
The study revealed that 83% of American adults think "it is the responsibility of individuals to get obesity under control." In addition, 68% of Americans believe that "lack of exercise" is the main cause of obesity, when compared to "eating too much" at 32%. A distinct difference was found regarding how Americans and the British view food companies and government agencies' responsibility in the obesity epidemic. In the U.S., 26% say they blame food companies for obesity problems, as compared to 42% in the UK. In addition, when asked whether or not the government and health authorities are to blame for the problem, 22% of the U.S. responded "yes" versus 39% of the U.K.
With regard to attitudes towards advertisers linked to unhealthy foods, 65% of American respondents say "advertisers are not to blame -- it is the responsibility of the parents" compared to 50% of the British respondents.
The majority of U.S. adults, 60%, generally look for the nutritional labeling on food packs, and use the information to help them decide what to buy. And even in the anti-carbohydrate age -- fat, sugar, salt and vitamin and mineral content are rated as the most important information to know.
When it comes to regulating their children's diets, 84% of Americans and 88% of the British say they "like to know what their children are eating, and if they don't approve, they'll step in and control it."
Universal McCann is one of the world's largest media service firms providing strategic services and consultancies in the areas of traditional and non-traditional media planning and buying, communications architecture, digital technologies, and research/modelling. Universal McCann is part of McCann-Erickson Worldgroup, a division of The Interpublic Group of Companies.
SOURCE Universal McCann