Baby Boomer Trend: Scaling Back On Sweets

June 25, 2019

Baby Boomer Trend: Scaling Back On Sweets

Roughly half of baby boomers are cutting down on their sugar consumption, according to the findings of a new white paper from Innova Market Insights (IMI), a food and beverage industry research firm. Innova reports that about 40% of Americans born during 1946-64 say they are reducing the amount of sweet snacks they eat. This dietary shift is not exclusive to baby boomers. In 2017, per-capita consumption of sugar and caloric sweeteners fell for the third straight year in the U.S.

The Food and Drug Administration notes that sugar accounts for about 13% of daily caloric intake in this country, so lessening the amount consumed per day is only wise given sugar’s link to diabetes and its association with weight gain and obesity. As IMI notes, boomers go lightly on ice cream, desserts, candy bars, and chocolate compared with other age groups, but consume more bakery treats, breakfast cereals, and yogurt, all of which can contain sizable levels of sugar. Manufacturers are taking notice and rolling out low-sugar yogurts, cereals, and baked goods in response to changing diets and changing times.²