More than one in three U.S. consumers are following a specific diet or eating pattern, and they are increasingly averse to carbohydrates and sugar, according to the 13th Annual Food and Health Survey, released in May by the International Food Information Council (IFIC) Foundation, Washington, D.C. Thirty-six percent of Americans reported following a specific diet or eating pattern within the past year like intermittent fasting (10 percent) and paleo (7 percent), it adds.
The survey highlights that more Americans blame carbohydrates, and specifically sugar, for weight gain. Although sugars continue to be the most cited cause of weight gain (33 percent), carbs ranked second at 25 percent, up from 20 percent in 2017, the survey states.