Healthy eating out: when, what and where. Two countries compared

August 2024

The 100 Healthy Days Survey put Italian and Danish consumers under the magnifying glass for 100 days and they reported on their perceptions and experiences of a healthy lifestyle.

Food is the element that drives this style and, when analysing consumption outside the home – when, what and where –, the search for the ‘healthy’ variable is definitely important.

In Italy 97% and in Denmark 92% of respondents say they have eaten healthy outside the home at least once in the last 100 days. This figure is similar and consistent in percentage terms for each age group, highlighting the clarity of choice.

In general, 68% of the respondents in the two countries eat outside the home seeking healthy food as a daily habit, i.e. most of the time, and specifying that they tend to (50%) concentrate their choice during the weekend.

Looking at the data by country, in Italy eating out, choosing healthy eating, is a very common daily habit (71% of respondents), while in Denmark it is only 60%.

In Italy, eating out and seeking healthy food mainly at weekends mirrors the figure for the market in general by age group, which are fairly aligned. In Denmark, on the other hand, the over 56s state that they eat healthily away from home both during the week and at weekends, showing consistency with the 93% of them, who consider the choice of healthy eating as a fundamental element of a healthy lifestyle.

But which meal is chosen by respondents when they decide to eat healthy away from home?

61% choose dinner, followed by lunch (42%), with much lower percentages for other meals.

The two countries behave similarly and in line with the market in general: in Italy, dinner is worth 60% and lunch 43%. The Silver, i.e. the over 56s, are the most active consumers in percentage terms compared to the other age panels. 

In Denmark, dinner is the most relevant meal (63%), while lunch is worth 38% of the respondents' opinion. A curious fact: in Denmark, as a healthy meal, the afternoon snack is preferred to breakfast, whereas in Italy it has relevance immediately after lunch.

About 67% of the respondents in both countries choose restaurants as a place to eat a healthy meal.

This choice highlights profoundly different lifestyles, which are also influenced by the climatic and geographic conditions characteristic of the two countries, which only agree on the restaurant!

In Italy, after the restaurant, the choice falls on trattorias (34%) and agriturismi (26%). In Denmark, on the other hand, after the restaurant, as many as 35% of respondents opt for the bar.

To summarise: in general, the data from the 100 Healthy Days Survey shows that the respondents who chose to eat healthily away from home in the last 100 days, particularly at weekends, favoured dinner at a restaurant.

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