Why healthy eating feels hard
Core finding
Cost is the leading barrier adults name when healthy eating feels hard, even though many already think about ultra-processed food.
Roughly 40% say healthy foods are too expensive. About 32% say it was at least somewhat hard for their household to regularly get and eat healthy foods over the last 12 months.
Cost is the most common barrier to healthy eating
About 40% of adults say healthy foods are too expensive, making cost the most common barrier selected in this question.
Other barriers are less common. Roughly 19% point to traditional family foods, 13% say they do not have enough time to cook or shop, and 9% say they or their family do not like the taste of healthy foods.
Topline
40% say healthy foods are too expensive.
n = 1,000 · Mar 6–16, 2026 · MoE ±3.5%
Healthy eating is hard for about one-third of adults
About 32% of adults say it was very hard, hard, or somewhat hard for their household to regularly get and eat healthy foods over the last 12 months.
A larger share says it was not very hard or not hard at all, but the barrier question shows cost remains the clearest friction among those named.
Topline
51% try to avoid or never eat ultra-processed foods.
n = 1,000 · Mar 6–16, 2026 · MoE ±3.5%
Many adults already think about ultra-processed food
About 51% of adults say they either try to avoid ultra-processed foods or never eat them, while 39% say they do not think about whether a food is ultra-processed when deciding whether to eat it.
Familiarity with formal dietary guidance is mixed. Roughly 52% say they are at least somewhat familiar with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, while 48% are not very familiar or not at all familiar.
Methodology
Full methodology →| Mode | Verasight panel recruited via random address-based sampling, random person-to-person text messaging, and dynamic online targeting |
|---|---|
| Population | US adults age 18+ |
| Field dates | Mar 6–16, 2026 |
| Base (unweighted) | 1,000 |
| Margin of error | ±3.5% |
| Module | Module 5: Health, Community, & Personal Values |
| Sponsor | Verasight |
| Weight variable | weight |
| Weighting targets | age, race/ethnicity, sex, income, education, region, metropolitan status |
Sources
- reports.verasight.io/r/omnibus-2026-044
Which, if any, of the following reasons were true for you or your household in the last 12 months. (Select all that apply)
- reports.verasight.io/r/omnibus-2026-044
Thinking about the last 12 months, how hard was it for you or your household to regularly get and eat healthy foods that support your well-being?
- reports.verasight.io/r/omnibus-2026-044
Do you think about whether a food is ultra-processed when deciding whether or not to eat it?
- reports.verasight.io/r/omnibus-2026-044
Before today, how familiar were you with the new Dietary Guidelines for Americans?
Cite this topic
Verasight Client Omnibus Survey #2026-044, fielded March 6-16, 2026, N=1,000 US adults age 18+, +/- 3.5%.