But people take action on it to varying degrees, our survey shows. We have already seen that there is a strong gender distinction. The correlation with age is even more dramatic. While young people express nearly the same levels of concern about their health, nutrition, and exercise, they are less likely to be doing anything about it, as the following chart shows. Likewise, on our eating behaviors questions, older Americans are more likely to be eating healthfully than younger people.
Education also influences nutritional behavior.
In general, Americans with higher levels of formal education are more responsive to nutritional messages. Those with post-graduate degrees, in particular, are the most likely to say they are concerned and actively doing something about their health. They are also significantly more likely than others to be engaging in healthy eating behaviors. This may have as much to do with understanding nutrition as it does with caring about it. For the past several years, much of the focus in food marketing has been on what a particular food does not contain, be it calories, fat, cholesterol, or sodium.