Protest over the nation’s ever-expanding waistlines is mounting. The obesity crisis, as it has been correctly called, leads to a myriad of serious health problems, including diabetes and heart disease, and incurs costs of $147 billion annually.
There is a lot of blame going around, and most of the accusations are going in the right direction. We don’t diet. We don’t exercise. We ignore nutrition advice. We ignore government health initiatives. Remember the President’s Advice on Physical Fitness? Public schools have reduced their gymnastics programs. Some of us give up. Some of us are even genetically inclined to gain weight.
The various proposed solutions stand out for their ambition. Ban dangerous trans fats in restaurants. No tax on junk food and sugary drinks. Eliminate soft drinks from school vending machines. Restore physical education programs in public schools. Reinforce menus in schools.
So far nothing has worked.
Why is this so?
The debate centers on two extremes. On the one hand, the well-intentioned “Food Police” seek to extract concessions from food companies without considering the financial impact or practicality of such changes. Food is either “good” or “bad,” with contempt reserved for our favorite treats: French fries, hamburgers, fried chicken, ice cream, sugary sodas. Even the food industry’s efforts to make positive changes are recognized with minimal applause. His point of view is presented as a tirade against capitalism, expecting the government to play the role of babysitting for his consuming children.
The food industry lobby, especially the restaurant trade, takes an oppositional, but equally intractable position. He insists that the consumer is solely responsible for their eating behavior, and that many healthy options are provided for his customers to choose from.
Now that we’re faced with skyrocketing rates of childhood obesity, the downsides of excessive portion sizes, and the ills of trans fats, don’t purveyors of blatantly unhealthy food and beverages fully understand that they may inadvertently kill your healthy bottom line? ? Even if a corporation doesn’t choose to market healthier foods because it’s the right thing to do, it should at least make changes because it makes economic sense. Adding salads to menus is a good thing, but does anyone really think this will alter the eating habits of the frequent burger and fries eater? It’s not about providing a healthier alternative, it’s about improving the foods we love and will continue to eat. Cholesterol-free fried chicken? Are hot dogs good for your heart? French fries and donuts soaking up the calories from cooking oils? Yeah! Eating more granola won’t help Americans’ hearts beat longer. We must learn to live and embrace the healthiest junk food oxymoron.
Since most consumers have not demonstrated the ability to control the amount of food and drink they consume, I believe there is only one solution: Stealth Health.
What do I mean by Stealth Health? With advances in calorie reduction, satiety enhancement, and other emerging technologies that seamlessly incorporate beneficial nutrients into food and beverages, the food industry now has access to tools to deliver great-tasting products with healthier nutritional profiles. . And they can do this tomorrow without even trumpeting the health message. All of this can be done at a profit without losing… in fact, possibly gaining… users for your products.
This provides the basis for a new food paradigm. With taste being considered the #1 reason people select food and beverages, health has always taken a backseat. Residual concern over failed attempts to introduce healthier foods, such as the McDonald’s McLean Deluxe hamburger, still plays into the industry’s unwillingness to take risks. But times are different. Obesity was not a problem when the first McDonald’s opened. Now is the time for a change. The healthiest foods should become the minimum bet. They become the speed bumps that prevent us from premature heart attacks and early-onset diabetes. They just become the norm. Just like your car comes with seat belts and airbags, their cost-benefit ratio is now taken for granted.
We need a call to action to engage food providers to improve the overall health of what we consume on a daily basis. Not because they are to blame for the crisis, but because they are the only ones who can deal with it effectively. They are our last best hope.
