57% of Americans Are Tired of Being Told What To Eat, New Survey Finds
The survey also found many people are burned out by wellness trends, food guilt, and the pressure to optimize every bite.
Proteinmaxxing. Fibermaxxing. Wellnessmaxxing. Somewhere along the way, eating became another thing people were expected to track, optimize, and explain.
A new survey suggests Americans may be getting tired of it.
According to a poll of 2,000 U.S. adults commissioned by Pancho’s Cheese Dip and conducted by Talker Research, 57% of Americans said they are “sick and tired” of being told what they should and shouldn’t be eating.
The survey also found that 64% believe America has a serious “obsession problem,” where people will find almost anything to obsess over. Food topped the list, with 65% saying Americans obsess over it, followed by health and fitness at 55%.
Wellness Trends Are Starting To Feel Exhausting
The survey points to a bigger kind of burnout around food and health culture.
More than six in 10 respondents said it is exhausting to keep up with the latest health and wellness food trends and obsessions. Another 61% said they are tired of avoiding foods they like just to lose weight.
That tracks with the current food conversation, where everything from GLP-1s to protein intake to calorie tracking has become part of everyday chatter. According to the survey, respondents said GLP-1s, calorie counting, health tech data analysis, air frying, and foods advertising themselves as “healthy” are among the topics dominating the wellness space.
Nearly a quarter of respondents said they frequently feel guilty or judged when eating their favorite not-so-healthy foods.
Most People Still Think Food Should Be Fun
For all the noise around optimization, the survey found a pretty clear counterpoint: 77% of Americans believe food should be fun.
Nearly two-thirds said they would rather have a margarita on the patio than a protein shake after the gym. A whopping 92% said they would rather share favorite foods with friends than go to a group spin class.
Another 65% said they would rather run away from their problems than run a 5K, which is maybe not doctor-recommended, but emotionally understandable.
The survey also found that 68% believe America would be happier if people did not obsess so much over health or food.
Social Media Seems To Be Part of the Problem
When asked where obsessions over health, fitness, and food come from, respondents pointed first to social media influencers.
Fifty-seven percent blamed influencers, while 46% pointed to companies pushing ad campaigns and 41% blamed celebrities.
That makes sense. One scroll through social media can make it feel like everyone is meal prepping, lifting heavier, hitting impossible protein goals, drinking green powders, taking supplements, and somehow still making sourdough.
For some people, that can be motivating. For others, it just turns lunch into homework.
If you are like me and can’t stand this, I highly recommend checking out Ben Carpenter. His book is wonderful too.
Queso Became the Funny Example
Because this survey was commissioned by Pancho’s Cheese Dip, queso does eventually enter the conversation.
The brand is leaning into the idea of “quesomaxxing,” a tongue-in-cheek response to all the other “maxxing” trends. The point, according to the company, is less about actual optimization and more about enjoying food without turning every snack into a self-improvement project.
“People feel like they have to ‘maxx out’ every part of their lives right now,” said Lindsay Amundson, VP, Head of Marketing at Pancho’s Cheese Dip. “We think there’s really only one thing worth ‘maxxing’— fun.”
The survey also found that queso remains one of those foods people are willing to eat even if they know it is not exactly a wellness trend. Respondents named it as a go-to for Taco Tuesdays, Super Bowl Sunday, Cinco de Mayo, game nights, and hosting friends.
Among younger Americans, queso even edged out guacamole. Fifty-four percent said they would rather have chips and queso than chips and guac.
Food Guilt May Be Losing Its Grip
The most interesting part of the survey is not really about queso. It is the larger pushback against the idea that every meal needs to be justified.
Seventy-three percent of respondents said there is at least one health or food-related obsession they wish they could erase from the collective consciousness. And 37% said they are trying to embrace a form of “counterculture” by not falling into whatever everyone else is obsessing over.
That does not mean people are suddenly rejecting health altogether. It just suggests many are tired of food being treated like a moral test.
There is room for protein goals and patio margaritas. There is room for vegetables and queso. And maybe there is also room to eat something because it tastes good, without turning it into a personality trait.
If you like food surveys with slightly surprising results, another recent report looked at how Americans are eating at home and which state ranked No. 1 for food culture.
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should be careful who you should listen on what to eat
So true
The everything is a super food is getting old as well. Make your own food from scratch. If something makes you feel off stop eating it. Easy peasey.
It is so frustrating! This is good for you…oops, not it’s not….wait, maybe it is. I just try to eat healthy and clean. I eat what feels right for my body.
It would be easy to eat healthy if they stop making GMO’d food. Its that simple.
queso should always get a pass
I eat clean through the week and treat myself every weekend works for me, can see why people would be fed up being told what to eat as food is a big part of people’s lives and enjoyment.
So true – sometimes eating feels like a full-time job with all these trends.