Nestlé’s claim to be ‘œthe world’s leading nutrition, health and wellness company’ is pure spin. While Nestlé try to win kudos for their commitment to health, they quietly let it be known through trade websites that they are still going to promote high sugar cereals, many of which are aimed at children. If the Government is serious about improving health they must use their powers to regulate. A good start would be expelling Nestlé from the anti-obesity Change4Life campaign.
Archive for category Food marketing
Children’s Food Campaign appalled because Nestlé refuses to ditch many of its unhealthiest cereals
Apr 17
Food, Inc.
Apr 16
This movie does for the supermarkets what Jaws did for the beach! It stars Eric Schlosser and Michael Pollan. Wish the DVD was out now!
Using data 2001 from the National Health Interview Survey in Taiwan researchers looked at the fast food and soft drink consumption, body weight and level of happiness of 2,366 children aged between 2 and 12 years old. The study’s key finding was that children who ate fast food and drank soft drinks were more likely to be overweight, but they were also less likely to be unhappy.
Soda Ounces of Prevention
Apr 14
A penny-per-ounce tax on sugared beverages could reduce consumption by more than 10%. It is difficult to imagine producing behavior change of this magnitude through education alone, even if government devoted massive resources to the task. In contrast, a sales tax on sugared drinks would generate considerable revenue, and as with the tax on tobacco, it could become a key tool in efforts to improve health.
This systematic review and meta-analysis of 88 studies was published in 2007. The available data indicate a clear and consistent association between soft drink consumption and increased energy intake.
The scientific literature documents that food marketing to children is (a) massive; (b) expanding in number of venues (product placements, video games, the Internet, cell phones, etc.); (c) composed almost entirely of messages for nutrient-poor, calorie-dense foods; (d) having harmful effects; and (e) increasingly global and hence difficult to regulate by individual countries. The food industry, governmental bodies, and advocacy groups have proposed a variety of plans for altering the marketing landscape. This article reviews existing knowledge of the impact of marketing and addresses the value of various legal, legislative, regulatory, and industry-based approaches to change.
One big myth is that fruit juice is a healthy part of our diet. Wrong. Drinking a glass of fruit juice a day ‘” which is the equivalent of one soft drink of 110 to 180 calories ‘” has been linked in the U.S., Australia and Spain to increased calorie intake and higher risks of diabetes and heart disease. Find this interesting story by Bary Popkin in NYT.
Food prices can affect weight outcomes and pricing interventions can have a significant effect on obesity rates, U.S. researchers said.
A review and analysis of empirical and historical evidence pertaining to tobacco and food industry practices, messages, and strategies to influence public opinion, legislation and regulation, litigation, and the conduct of science. The tobacco industry had a playbook, a script, that emphasized personal responsibility, paying scientists who delivered research that instilled doubt, criticizing the ‘œjunk’ science that found harms associated with smoking, making self-regulatory pledges, lobbying with massive resources to stifle government action, introducing ‘œsafer’ products, and simultaneously manipulating and denying both the addictive nature of their products and their marketing to children. The script of the food industry is both similar to and different from the tobacco industry script. See alsohttp://www.fooducate.com/blog/2009/03/17/the-food-industry-is-not-behaving-like-the-tobacco-industry-right/
A new study found a significant positive association between sugar-sweetened beverage intake and risk of coronary heart disease. Women who consumed two or more servings of these beverages each day had a 35% higher risk of heart disease compared to those who consumed less than two servings per month.