The study, "Healthy at Foodservice--Consumer Expectations Put In Perspective" surveyed 5,178 consumers who visited a foodservice establishment in the past three months. The survey was conducted from May 1 to May 13, 2013.
Of those consumers not ordering healthily when they dine out, 37% said that when they go out to eat, “I want to eat what I want to eat,” and 23% said that “I want to indulge when I go out to eat.”
“The bottom line is that even with an increasing number of restaurants offering healthier menu items or posting calories and other nutritional information, at the end of the day, consumers see dining out as a treat, an indulgence,” said Bonnie Riggs, NPD restaurant industry analyst, in a press release.
For those 25% of adults who try to eat healthy out of the home, they have varying strategies to how they order. Some 39% choose to have a salad as a meal, and 38% skip dessert.