Heart healthy foods lost to under-55 women
Kashi, which specializes in making healthy cereals, said the results affirmed its commitment to better communicating the heart healthy benefits of its cereals.
"It is unfortunate to see people of any age disregard heart health, but these figures showed us that younger generations, in particular, are not proactively looking for heart-healthy foods because they cannot find them, or they are unsure of what to look for," said Kashi natural food and lifestyle expert, Keegan Sheridan.
"This strongly supports our decision to continue emphasizing not only the nutritionals and value of our heart healthy foods, but also encouraging a healthy, active lifestyle."
The survey asked 5000 American women about heart health and found 60 percent were concerned about it. Of those 60 percent, 45 percent were under 55.
The poll found 77 percent of women know they are at risk for heart disease, but 41 percent have not talked to their doctor about taking preventative action, and 73 percent have not talked to their family about hereditary factors.
More damningly for Kashi’s business, half of those who said they never proactively look for heart healthy foods, said they did not know how to find these foods.
"What this survey told us is that there are many women who have heart health concerns, but are not voicing them and are generally unsure of how they can do more for their heart," Sheridan said.
"We know that the keystone to proper health and nutrition is education, so our goal is to use these findings to spread awareness about heart health so the public will feel more confident in making heart-healthy lifestyle decisions."
The survey found 49 percent of over-55s looked for heart healthy foods, compared to 32 percent of under-55s.
However if Kashi is going to alter its heart health messaging, it will hope not to draw the attention of the the Center for Science in the Public Interest which in January questioned a host of healthy food messaging including Kashi’s.
It said Kashi’s Heart to Heart Instant Oatmeal was making unauthorized green tea-related "support healthy arteries" claims.
