# Why healthy eating feels hard

Canonical page: https://data.verasight.io/health/why-healthy-eating-feels-hard/
Published: 2026-04-29

> Featured topic in Health.

Roughly 40% say healthy foods are too expensive, while 51% say they try to avoid or never eat ultra-processed foods.

## Overview: Healthy eating

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.

## 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.

## 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.

## Supporting evidence

### 40% say healthy foods are too expensive.

Question: Which, if any, of the following reasons were true for you or your household in the last 12 months.

Note: The strongest barrier signal is price.

Topline:

- Healthy foods are too expensive.: 39.9%
- None of the above.: 35.2%
- Some of the traditional foods in my family are not very healthy.: 18.5%
- I don't have enough time to cook or shop for healthy foods.: 12.8%
- I or my family don't like the taste of healthy foods.: 8.7%

### 51% try to avoid or never eat ultra-processed foods.

Question: Do you think about whether a food is ultra-processed when deciding whether or not to eat it?

Note: Shows people are already thinking about ultra-processed food in routine choices.

Topline:

- Yes, I try to avoid eating ultra-processed foods: 47.2%
- No: 39.0%
- Don't know: 7.3%
- Yes, I never eat any ultra-processed foods: 4.2%
- Yes, I try to eat ultra-processed foods: 1.9%

## 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: 2026-03-06 → 2026-03-16
- 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

- [Which, if any, of the following reasons were true for you or your household in the last 12 months. (Select all that apply)](https://reports.verasight.io/r/omnibus-2026-044#q-5-29): reports.verasight.io/r/omnibus-2026-044: The strongest barrier signal is price.
- [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?](https://reports.verasight.io/r/omnibus-2026-044#q-5-28): reports.verasight.io/r/omnibus-2026-044: Shows how often healthy eating feels practically difficult over a full year.
- [Do you think about whether a food is ultra-processed when deciding whether or not to eat it?](https://reports.verasight.io/r/omnibus-2026-044#q-5-31): reports.verasight.io/r/omnibus-2026-044: Shows people are already thinking about ultra-processed food in routine choices.
- [Before today, how familiar were you with the new Dietary Guidelines for Americans?](https://reports.verasight.io/r/omnibus-2026-044#q-5-12): reports.verasight.io/r/omnibus-2026-044: Adds context about how much formal dietary-guidance awareness exists.

## Citation

Verasight Client Omnibus Survey #2026-044, fielded March 6-16, 2026, N=1,000 US adults age 18+, +/- 3.5%.

Canonical question URL: [https://reports.verasight.io/r/omnibus-2026-044#q-5-29](https://reports.verasight.io/r/omnibus-2026-044#q-5-29)