FNCE: Increasing Skepticism About Healthy Eating Advice

We have trust issues. It is true in every dimension of life today, so it should be no surprise that we face increasing skepticism about healthy eating advice. In a review of the IFIC Food and Health Survey research, one fact stands out to us. Among U.S. adults, 79% say it’s hard to know what to think about nutrition because the information keeps changing. Though this is not new, it is a rising sentiment. Just thee years ago, that number was only 71%. It has never been higher.

These observations come from the first full day of FNCE – the annual meeting of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. For 90 minutes yesterday, Academy President Deanne Brandstetter, Wendy Kapsak, Lauri Wright, Melissa Dobbins, and Toby Amidor discussed consumer insights from the 2025 IFIC Food and Health Survey.

Sound Bites and Deep Dives

Information about food and nutrition bombards people on social media. But the sound bites coming from social media may not be very nourishing. One of the FNCE panel members, Melissa Dobbins, told us:

“There’s a big gap between the places where people get information and who they trust the most. Perhaps most important is that short form content – social media – is not an ideal platform for communicating nutrition science. Long firm content – podcasts – are a much better fit.”

Dobbins puts her beliefs into action on her own podcast, where she is one of the leading voices for communication about nutrition science. We’ve had the privilege of joining her for a chat.

Declining Trust in the Food Supply

Consistent with themes of rising skepticism and declining trust, the IFIC survey this year found an all-time low in the level of confidence in the safety of the U.S. food supply. Perhaps this is not surprising. After all, we have a health secretary who tells us that the food industry is “poisoning” Americans.

This is a communication style that gets attention while it promotes distrust. But that is how healthy skepticism becomes destructive cynicism. The only antidote is constructive, clear, and objectively truthful communication.

We’re getting a good dose at FNCE.

Click here for more about the IFIC Survey.

Trust Godzilla, photograph by formulanone, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

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October 13, 2025