LIGHTEN UP: Escape From Fat City

Let’s say you’re advertising a packaged food. Which sales pitch would be more effective – one that says the stuff is low in cholesterol or one that says it’s low in fat? As the chart indicates, fat content is what most concerns shoppers when they’re choosing foods at the supermarket – and it’s getting increasing attention. The chart reflects findings of the Food Marketing Institute’s 1993 study of consumer attitudes. As you can see, people are paying less heed to cholesterol content than they did a couple years ago, even as their concern about other nutritional factors has increased.
Evidently conflicting reports about the link between dietary cholesterol and one’s own cholesterol level have deflected consumers’ attention to nutritional factors about which there’s stronger consensus.