Qualtrics Survey Shows Americans Concerned about Health and Obesity

PROVO, Utah — January 10, 2008 — When asked ‘Do you consider yourself to be overweight,’56 percent of American respondents answered ‘yes.’

Qualtrics Survey Software, a leader in the enterprise feedback management industry recently surveyed Americans from all 50 states to discover their opinions on obesity, exercise and the fast food industry.

Sixty-seven percent of survey respondents indicated that they were concerned about obesity in America. Moreover, sixty-eight percent of those who took the survey suggested that they would vote in favor of a Surgeon General’s health warning — similar to that currently on cigarettes — to be placed on foods with a significantly high fat-content.

“Health, nutrition and exercise are hot topics around the nation right now,” says Ryan Smith, Qualtrics Director. “We wanted to discover America’s perception of this issue, and what opinions people have about proposed solutions. We tried to ask personal questions about a sensitive subject and we feel that our respondents answered honestly.”

Only 25 percent of those surveyed said that they would support a so-called “fat tax” that would place a special tax on food establishments whose menu is heavy in high fat-content foods. However, forty percent of respondents suggested that health insurance providers should be allowed to charge higher premiums to obese customers, to cover health-associated risks.

“We felt that many survey respondents were divided as to who should take the blame for the increasing obesity rates across the nation,” Smith says. “Most seem to credit the consumer rather than the producer of unhealthy foods — but it appears to be divided.”

When asked about exercise, the highest percentage of respondents — 31 percent — said they exercised less than once a month or not at all. However, the next largest proportion — 30 percent — suggested that they exercised multiple times a week and 16 percent of respondents answered ‘multiple times a month.’

Likewise, when asked, ‘about how often do you eat at fast food restaurants,’ the largest percentage of respondents — 31 percent — answered ‘a few times a month.’ Twenty five percent suggested they ate fast food at least once a week, and 24 percent answered ‘less than once a month.’

Qualtrics Survey Software
1361 Lakeview Drive
Provo, UT 84064
Contact:
Derek Westra
dowcommunications@gmail.com
801.502.7437

About Qualtrics:

Qualtrics is a market leader in Internet-based, electronic survey creation, analysis and distribution software. More than 30,000 customers prefer Qualtrics for their market research, enterprise feedback management, and survey software needs, including representatives from Fortune 500 companies and the nation’s top business schools. Learn more about Qualtrics by visiting www.qualtrics.com or calling 1.801.374.6682.

This release was published on openPR.