2025.01.14

Ando Foundation / NISSIN FOOD PRODUCTS "Nourishing Wellbeing" Second Study Again Proves the Strong Relationship Between Food and Wellbeing

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NISSIN FOOD PRODUCTS CO., LTD. (President and Representative Director: Noritaka Ando, hereinafter "NISSIN FOOD PRODUCTS") and the Ando Foundation (President: Koki Ando) in cooperation with Gallup, Inc. (CEO: Jon Clifton, hereinafter "Gallup"), a global analytics and advisory firm based in the United States, have again conducted a study following that from the year before last and released Nourishing Wellbeing (2023 edition of the report on the relationship between food and wellbeing), a report consolidating the results of the study and proving again the strong relationship between food and wellbeing^*1.

Making it clear that "food satisfaction" is an important indicator of improving "wellbeing"

Although it is taken for granted that food is the foundation of health, for many years, the direct relationship between food and wellbeing has not been made clear. Therefore, NISSIN FOOD PRODUCTS and the Ando Foundation, together with Gallup, conducted a study the year before last based on the hypothesis that food is an important ingredient of wellbeing, becoming the first in the world to clarify the relationship between food and wellbeing.

The study conducted this time again showed that people who were "completely satisfied" with their diet were 1.71 times more likely than those who were not "completely satisfied" to be experiencing wellbeing, and that food is an important component of wellbeing along with income. This proved again the strong relationship between food and wellbeing. The connection between satisfaction with food and four societal indicators^*2related to quality of life (QOL) was also proven, providing evidence that the "Food Wellbeing Index" itself is a stronger societal indicator.

Furthermore, a new discovery is the global decline in satisfaction with food centered on young people. Experts point out the background factors of a global decrease in opportunities for families to get together and the dilution of parent-child relationships in Japan. Regarding the situation in Japan, which did not have a high percentage of people who enjoy food, they also recommend the need at home and in schools for education and awareness-raising to increase wellbeing.

NISSIN FOOD PRODUCTS and the Ando Foundation will continue to explore how food can improve wellbeing in collaboration with researchers from universities and international organizations.

Summary of Results From the Study

Similar to the previous study, to measure subjective satisfaction regarding food, a survey was conducted targeting people in 142 countries and regions using three questions: "Would you say you mostly enjoyed the food you ate, or not?", "Do you think the food you ate was mostly healthy, or not?", and "Did you feel you had a lot of choices in the types of food you ate each day, or not?" The "Food Wellbeing Index" was defined as the percentage of people who answered "yes" to all three questions. The relationship between food and subjective wellbeing is analyzed by combining the Food Wellbeing Index with the Life Evaluation Index, an indicator measuring subjective wellbeing obtained from the Gallup World Poll, Gallup’s global public opinion survey.

1. Proof of relationship between the Food Wellbeing Index and QOL
The strong relationship between food and wellbeing that was made clear in the previous study was again proven in this study. It was also newly proven that the Food Wellbeing Index has a positive correlation with the four societal indicators related to QOL. Besides the connection between food and subjective wellbeing, given that it can be said that there is also a connection with QOL indicators derived from an even more diverse set of questions, the results provided evidence that the Food Wellbeing Index itself is a stronger societal indicator.

2. Global decline in satisfaction with food
In this study, out of the three questions, there was a slight increase in the percentage of people who answered "yes" to the question "Did you feel you had a lot of choices in the types of food you ate each day, or not?". However, there was a decline in the percentages that answered "yes" to the questions "Would you say you mostly enjoyed the food you ate, or not?" and "Do you think the food you ate was mostly healthy, or not?". (See Table 1.)

3. Decline in the Food Wellbeing Index of young people
Analyzing the Food Wellbeing Index by age showed a trend of decline for almost all age groups, with the significant decline among young people (aged 15 to 24) being especially prominent. This declining trend is also consistent with the study results in the World Happiness Report 2024 published by the United Nations. (See Table 2.)

Kan Suzuki, Professor, Graduate School of Public Policy, The University of Tokyo:

"The Food Wellbeing Index is a revolutionary indicator that exposes the relationship between food and wellbeing in the world. Regarding the global decline in food satisfaction, besides the impact on food arising from conflicts happening in different places and the issue of global warming, another major factor is the decrease in opportunities for families to get together due to more opportunities for going out after the COVID-19 pandemic. Especially in Japan, while health literacy is high, there is a trend of neglecting to eat together with one’s family. The dilution of parent-child relationships is also a significant issue within Japan’s education sector, and I see the evidence from even the aspect of food as a shocking result."

Mirei Kobayashi, Executive Director, Japan Association of Home Economics Teachers:

"The unemployment rate of young people remains high across developed countries as a whole and a trend of worsening further in developing countries. It is an issue that approximately 20% of young people in the world are not in employment, education or training (NEET). Looking at Japan’s figures in this study, the percentage of people who enjoy food is not high even though dietary education is being provided in Japanese schools. Given that the study results showed low food satisfaction among young people (aged 15 to 24) in particular, taking into consideration the social environment around young people, I think there is a need for Japan’s school education, including home economics classes, to strive to further improve wellbeing while also working on raising awareness in homes."

About the Gallup World Poll

The Gallup World Poll has been conducted by Gallup every year since 2005. Targeting people aged 15 and above, surveys are conducted in over 140 countries to cover more than 95% of the world’s population (aged 15 and above), with approximately 1,000 persons in each country. Data from this study is used to solve difficult issues faced by governments, NGOs and private organizations around the world.

About the Ando Foundation

The Ando Foundation was established by NISSIN founder Momofuku Ando in the belief that "food and sports are the two wheels that support health". The foundation’s main activities are to support track and field events, tennis, basketball, and other sports, as well as promote nature activities, operate the CUPNOODLES MUSEUMS, and organize an awards program that encourages creative foundational research and solid developments that lead to the creation of new food products. The NISSIN FOODS Group endorses the principles of the Ando Foundation and enthusiastically supports its activities.

About Nourishing Wellbeing (2023 edition of the report on the relationship between food and wellbeing)

This is a report that consolidates the results of a study on the relationship between food and wellbeing conducted by NISSIN FOOD PRODUCTS and the Ando Foundation with the cooperation of Gallup. For details, please refer to the website of the Ando Foundation.
[URL] https://www.ando-zaidan.jp/news/pdf/NW_report2023_en.pdf

*1 Wellbeing refers to the state of mental, physical and social contentment of an individual. There are generally two types of wellbeing: subjective wellbeing, which is understood through answers to questions such as "Am I happy?" and "How satisfied am I with my life?" and objective wellbeing, which is understood through quantitative indicators such as GDP, healthy life expectancy and crime rate.
*2 These are the four indicators related to quality of life: Life Evaluation Ratings, Positive Experience Index, SocialLife Index, and Community Attachment Index.