It is the supermarket's fault if a diet fails

Say wine, snacks or haute cuisine and the gourmands at online food magazine FavorFlav know where to drink, how to eat it and what to cook. This time our cheffies serve you: diet fails? The supermarket gets the blame.

So, January... The chips all quickly eaten as a precaution so that there are not too many temptations left in the house? Planning to start this year healthy and fresh after waking up from the December cheese coma? Then you may have scoured the supermarket with a list full of healthy things, but it could be that you lost track somewhere in the muesli aisle. Because what turns out? The supermarket is the cause for many people that a diet doesn't work.

The AD reports that research from the Consumers' Association indicates that the supermarket often gets the blame when people fail to lose weight. According to a survey, 91 percent of the Dutch are currently working on healthier eating, to lose weight or to become fitter. Yes, those cheese boards with red wine and croquette letters have certainly taken their toll. And oh yes, months of seeking comfort in , why don't we do more with it? and rum and cola... According to many of the respondents, the supermarket is not exactly cooperating with their good intentions. How is that?

Confusion
More than half of the surveyed consumers believe that the offerings in the supermarket are too unhealthy due to, for example, excessive sugars and salt present, and they do not know what to do with that. Even more of them, 67 percent, say that they find the unhealthy temptations too great. Often, good intentions fail due to ambiguity. Small print, misleading claims, an uncontrollable craving for espresso martini pancakes; it is also difficult. Almost half of the people who participated in the research also think that labels do not tell the whole truth, or they do not believe everything that is written on them.

Traffic light
To make all this easier for the consumer, an independent food choice logo has been developed called Nutri-Score. It works with colors from green to red and letters A - E, from healthiest to the worst for you. With this, choices could be made at a glance, but the tricky part is that supermarkets are not required to work with this ‘label’. So if your supermarket does not choose this, it may still be that you have to rely on yourself and your own judgment and time (because just take an extra half hour to read all those small print).

Costs what
Another point that many people see as an obstacle to a healthier path? The costs. 58 percent of the surveyed consumers indicate that they see healthy eating as more expensive than the unhealthier choices. The Consumers' Association recommends buying seasonal fruits and vegetables to put healthy meals on the table affordably. And don't forget the freezer, because with, for example, these tips for frozen vegetables you are enjoying yourself and being economical.