Healthier diet important to support mental and physical health: Herbalife survey

Conducted by Talker Research, on behalf of Herbalife, the survey among 5,500 adults across 11 countries

Herbalife, a premier health and wellness company and community released findings from its Asia Pacific “New Year, New Me” survey, which revealed that 85 per cent of consumers say a healthier diet is important to support their mental and physical health. Almost eight in 10 (77 per cent) plan to have healthier habits in the coming year and will measure the success of a more nutritious diet as achieving better overall wellbeing, feeling more energetic and sleeping better.

As part of this, 59 per cent plan to make a New Year’s resolution for 2025. When asked about their resolutions, the top three were to exercise more (59 per cent), eat healthier (58 per cent) and work on saving money (53 per cent).

Conducted by Talker Research on behalf of Herbalife, the survey of 5,500 adults across 11 countries examined how people view the importance of healthy habits and what steps they are taking to live healthier in the longer term.

“New Year’s resolutions can be a great way to jumpstart your journey to better health, but the real key is sticking with them beyond January,” said Dr Luigi Gratton, vice president of the Office of Health and Wellness at Herbalife. “Start with small, manageable goals and integrate them into your daily routine. With consistency and commitment, you can transform those resolutions into lasting, healthy habits.”

Half of the people surveyed said they are less healthy than usual as the end of the year approaches — and 50 per cent said they use the end of the year as an excuse to postpone eating healthily.

This varied by generation, too: 55 per cent of Gen Z respondents admitted to using this as an excuse, compared to 46 per cent of Gen Xers surveyed.

Regardless of age, the results also found that 60 per cent have broken a diet at the end of the year — with 37 per cent admitting it was due to the temptation of holiday food.

Many respondents are pausing their healthy habits so they can best enjoy the holiday season. Fifty-seven per cent of respondents said the end of the year is more enjoyable if they are not worried about healthy habits and weight.

Again, younger respondents were more likely to agree — 62 per cent of Gen Zers, compared to 53 per cent of Gen Xers.

They were also more likely to give into temptation this year: Overall, 44 per cent of respondents were more likely to give in this year than in other years, and this increased for younger generations — 53 per cent of Gen Z, versus only 37 per cent of Gen X.

When asked why they’re more likely to give into temptation this year, respondents said that as they’ve gotten older, they’re more willing to give in and just enjoy the moment (43 per cent) — and they’re more grateful to be with family and friends, and therefore expect their self-control to be lower (40 per cent).