Food Industry Health
Pitches Prompt Skepticism
Excerpt By Deborah Cohen, Reuters Health

The companies that make Big Macs, Oreo cookies and Coke want Americans to know that good health and proper nutrition are at the top of their agendas.

U.S. health experts, concerned about the growing problem of obesity, are more than a little skeptical, even as they welcome any effort to provide more healthful choices and nutritional information to increasingly overweight consumers.

In the face of mounting evidence of the health risks of high-fat foods and lawsuits aimed at the junk food industry, big names like Kraft and McDonald's said they are changing their approach to fat content, menu choices and marketing. Some of the promised moves are several years away.

But some health experts wonder whether a public relations blitz from the food industry will cloud people's vision to the hard nutritional facts about the most popular brands as they continue to put on the pounds.

"There's a societal public health responsibility that cannot be delegated to the food industry or the fast-food industry," David Satcher, the former U.S. Surgeon General, told Reuters. "I think that would be dangerous."

Satcher and other health professionals stress there are immediate steps the food industry can take to gain credibility with the public. High on the list is improved disclosure about food content -- both in labeling and at restaurants where Americans increasingly eat more meals.

They call for tighter limits on marketing to children and tougher criteria for school vending machines and cafeteria food.

"I don't think that food companies are solely responsible for obesity, but clearly some of their practices are major contributors," said Margo Wootan, director of nutrition policy with the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a non-profit health group. "The food industry can help especially by providing more choice and more information about content."

"POLITICALLY CORRECT"

Meanwhile, obesity among adults in the United States has doubled in the past quarter century, and tripled among adolescents, according to the U.S. Surgeon General. The number of Americans with diabetes, a disease often linked to being overweight, has risen nearly 50 percent from 1990 to 2000, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

As the food industry positions itself as a public health advocate, Jack Trout, head of marketing consultants Trout and Partners, said it is going through the motions to put on a good face amid troubling trends.

"I think they'll throw out a fair amount (of money) to just try and get their message out there," he said. "They'll take a run at it while it's the politically correct thing to do."

Kraft Foods Inc., which makes Oreo cookies and Velveeta cheese spread, has promised fat-fighting initiatives that include the reformulation of some products, a reduction in portion sizes, and elimination of marketing in schools. It said the moves are part of a longstanding commitment.

"This is something we've been working on for a long time," Kraft Co-Chief Executive Betsy Holden told Reuters. "We're doing these things because we think they're the right things to do for our customers and the right things for our business."

McDonald's Corp., which recently faced potential class-action litigation linking Big Macs to obesity, has launched a range of health-oriented menu items like improved salads, and fruit and milk in Happy Meals for children.

ENCOURAGING PHYSICAL FITNESS

In March, it unveiled plans to "encourage families to incorporate physical fitness into their daily lives." Coca-Cola Co., the biggest maker of sugary soft drinks, developed the program, which encourages walking as exercise and provides suggestions on how to boost physical activity.

"We have been in the business on the health and nutrition side of things for almost three decades," said Ken Barun, who heads the McDonald's program. "We are just stepping it up because we're listening to what our customers are telling us."

The largest fast-food chain is creating more alliances with groups like the World Health Organization, Barun said, and it recently formed a health advisory council that includes medical experts and Olympic athlete Jackie Joyner Kersey.

Mark Kantor, associate professor of nutrition at the University of Maryland, remained doubtful. "I don't really see that it's the role of food companies like McDonald's to get involved in nutrition education," he said. "There are plenty of other groups out there more suited."

Several companies have suggested direct links between their foods and better health. Cereal maker Kellogg Co. has challenged consumers to lose weight by eating more cereal, while H.J. Heinz Co. has touted the disease-fighting properties of tomatoes.

The Quaker Oats unit of PepsiCo Inc. has its own research arm that aims to show drinking the electrolyte-laden Gatorade sports drink enhances performance during exercise.

"Our health ... in the United States is not necessarily the No. 1 concern of these companies," said Samantha Heller, a nutritionist at New York University. "You can take scientific information and skew it to make you look better."

Reference Source 89

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