Gen Z’s Approach to Healthy Eating

Gen Zers have been raised in a society where healthy eating was taught from an early age. They were largely beneficiaries of programs to increase fruit and vegetable intake in school lunches, and dietary guidelines released in the last 20 years have shifted focus from individual nutrients to a holistic eating approach. What’s more, as they’ve come of age, it’s become considered cool to be healthy (think athleisure and water bottles as status symbols). As a result, 68% of Gen Zers say they eat healthy always or often. But the way Gen Zers define “eating healthy” differs from previous generations.

Gen Zers eat healthy to feel healthy

Reasons for eating healthy vary amongst Gen Zers, but the most common is that they want to feel healthy and in shape, slightly outperforming the desire to look healthy and in shape. Even a small difference here represents a sea change from the mindset of millennials, who were largely raised on 90s diet culture and heroin-chic imagery, where eating less (and ultimately weighing less) were key tenets.

The culture around healthy eating was shifting when Gen Zers were cementing their own approaches. The rise of the body positivity and subsequent body neutrality movements, while initiated by older generations, mainstreamed Gen Z as they came of age, allowing them to embrace their bodies in a way previous generations were taught not to. This, combined with the love of food that comes with foodie culture, has allowed Gen Zers to look at food as something more than just functional — though the functions they do associate it with are more long term, like living a longer and healthier life.

Notably, nearly 2 in 5 Gen Zers also say that healthy eating is a way to improve their mental health, pointing to an approach to wellness that is holistic rather than fragmented.

That said, the pendulum may be swinging back in the other direction with the renewed cultural focus on weight loss, particularly given the rise in popularity of GLP-1 medications such as Ozempic. This hits women particularly hard — Gen Z women are 9 points more likely than men to say they eat healthy to lose weight.

When it comes to health, Gen Z favors the presence of “good” over the absence of “bad”

Influenced by broadening definitions of health in their upbringing, Gen Zers who eat healthy are likely to favor simple approaches rather than complicated and fussy diets. To wit, the most common approach to healthy eating is getting more fruits and vegetables in one’s diet. Following closely behind is protein intake, signifying a focus on the presence of positives over the absence of negatives as a framework of healthy food. That said, there are areas many cut back — most commonly in sugars (also something reinforced with this generation at a young age).

Gen Zers are largely aligned across demographics on these approaches, though there are some small gender gaps. Men of the generation are more likely to favor most approaches, particularly eating more protein, reducing sugar, and managing macros, while women are more likely to cut back on meat. That said, given divergences in the way men and women of previous generations approached healthy eating, the similarities are just as notable as any differences would be.

Despite this broad approach, most Gen Zers say that eating healthy can be hard — only 14% don’t think that’s the case. But what they find difficult isn’t necessarily figuring out how to eat healthy but rather giving up on foods they enjoy and budgeting for the perceived expenses that come along with healthy eating.

Health-related labels have a halo effect with Gen Z food shoppers

Often, the expense of healthy eating is perceived to come from a premium attached to ingredient signifiers such as “natural,” “organic,” or ”Non-GMO.” While these labeling specifics have waxed and waned in popularity over time, most have successfully established a health halo effect amongst Gen Zers. 

More than 3 in 5 Gen Zers say that foods that are natural or free from artificial ingredients are better for their health, and a nearly identical share say the same about organic foods.  A notable outlier to this pattern is lab-grown or cultured meat. This is the only option for which Gen Zers were more likely to say it is worse for your health than better for it.

The same was true when Gen Zers were asked whether or not each of these options was better or worse for the environment. Despite proponents saying it’s environmentally-friendly, Gen Zers don’t think of it as better for the planet, contrary to their response for all of the other options.

Despite the higher perceived cost related to food and beverage items carrying these labels, a majority of Gen Zers say most are worth buying. This suggests that, despite budget concerns, they’re willing to shell out for items that they believe will support their health, further confirming the important role that healthy eating plays in their lives.

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