Eating out and obesity

Restaurants across the world need to be more transparent in helping diners make informed meal decisions while eating out, a global survey has found.

It’s not that consumers are not aware of healthier options but they need that extra push to opt for foods that are nutritionally beneficial, or at least not harmful. Poor levels of information were cited as a significant barrier to leading a healthier lifestyle.

This can be achieved by the food services industry providing more information about the foods they offer.

The biannual 2011 Unilever Food Solutions World Menu Report, aimed at measuring people’s attitudes and behaviors towards eating out, polled consumers in seven countries – the United States, United Kingdom, China Germany, Russia, Brazil and Turkey.

The study, titled “What’s in Your Food?”, found that as people become more health conscious there is a rise in concern regarding the nutritional values of the food they eat.

“Eating habits have changed dramatically and rapidly over the past few decades, largely as a result of more choices, larger portions and increased access to fast foods,” says the survey.

Though the report does not mention obesity, it is an issue of growing concern today with the easy availability of fast food and convenience foods.

Obesity has reached epidemic proportions globally with at least 2.8 million people dying each year as a result of being either overweight or obese, according to the World Health Organisation.

Being overweight or obese raises the risks of coronary heart disease, ischaemic stroke, type 2 diabetes mellitus and some common cancers.

Between 1980 and 2008, obesity has doubled worldwide. By 2008, 10 per cent of men and 14 per cent of women (half a billion people) in the world were obese, compared with 5 per cent of men and 8 per cent of women in 1980.

The World Menu Report found that people are demanding the right to enjoy food that is healthy but still delicious.

Those polled mostly wanted to know about fat, calorie content, additives and preservatives. Also, in the West people wanted to know more about salt content while in China people demanded more information about the vitamins and proteins in their food.

Key findings of the report:

• In all countries, there is a need for more information – 9 out of 10 people demand truth about food when eating out
• Nutritional information could help people make healthier choices
• Food labels including low fat and calorie content would be welcome

Gaby Vreeken, President Marketing, Unilever Food Solutions, says: “We believe that all of us in the food service industry have a responsibility to tackle the global obesity crisis.

“The insights from this major new study show that the challenges of encouraging healthier diets can be addressed with small changes to existing menus.

“In essence, it’s no more than a nudge to help guests choose a healthier option. Small steps can have an enormous impact on the health of diners across the world and help to tackle rising obesity levels.”

Will Belviq help US' 'war on obesity' ?

The battle of the bulge in the United States is getting more earnest with federal authorities now opening a new frontier in their fight against a burgeoning crisis.

The Food and Drug Administration has given its nod to Arena Pharmaceutical’s Belviq, generically known as lorcaserin.

It is the first new prescription drug for long-term weight loss approved in 13 years, after Roche’s Xenical in 1999.

Belviq ... new weapon against obesity

Belviq is meant for adults who are obese (with a body mass index of 30 or greater) or overweight (with a BMI of 27 or greater) and have at least one medical complication, like diabetes or high cholesterol.

Arena and its partner Eisai Inc. of Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey expect to launch the drug early next year.

Belviq acts on chemicals in the brain and reduces appetite thereby boosting feelings of satiety and fullness.

Doctors believe that diet and exercise are either not religiously adhered to, not producing the expected results or are not enough to treat obesity.

Obesity Society President Patrick O’Neil welcomes Belviq’s approval. He should – he was the lead researcher on several studies of the drug!

But will Belviq bear expected results? Consider the following:

• Belviq was rejected in 2010 after scientists voiced concerns after the drug formed breast tumors in rats;

• Clinical trials show Belviq only achieving modest weight loss – an average patient lost just 3 to 3.7 per cent of the starting body weight over a year;

• Vivus Inc.’s Qnexa, on the other hand, is thought to lead to an average weight loss of 11 per cent – so why Belviq first?

• Side effects of Belviq include depression, migraine and memory lapses;

• FDA-approved Xenical is seldom prescribed today because of unpleasant digestive side effects and modest weight loss;

• Analysts are also skeptical that Belviq will also go down the same road as other unpopular anti-obesity and diet pills.

The approval of Belviq comes close on the heels of a recommendation by the US Preventive Services Task Force that doctors should screen the weight and height for all patients to check for obesity.

The federal health advisory panel also suggests that patients considered obese should be referred to intensive diet and exercise programs, if necessary.

Courtesy: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

According to latest available statistics more than a third of adults in the United States are obese with the past couple of decades witnessing a dramatic rise in the obesity rate.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has already taken up the cudgels by proposing to ban super-sized coals in restaurants, theatres and public places as part of a drive to fight obesity.

Desperate times call for desperate measures but one wonders if, instead of such radical steps, wouldn’t a greater emphasis on education and awareness about the issue bear better results?

The world is getting fatter!

Obesity is a worldwide problem with a study suggesting that pressure on dwindling resources will increase as more and more people keep getting fatter.

According to the World Health Organization’s World Health Statistics 2012, one in six adults is obese.

Key findings from the report:

• Worldwide, 2.8 million people die each year as a result of being either overweight or obese

• By 2008, 10 per cent of men and 14 per cent of women (half a billion people) in the world were obese, compared with 5 per cent of men and 8 per cent of women in 1980.

• WHO’s Region of the Americas has the highest percentage of overweight and obese people (62 per cent overweight in both sexes, and 26 per cent obese) and the South-East Asia Region has the lowest (14 per cent overweight in both sexes and 3 per cent obese).

No wonder governments have started considering measures to regulate high-fat or high-calorie foods.

In fact, some have already begun to embrace taxes and other regulation on foods that contribute to weight gain.

• Denmark imposed a tax in 2011 on foods containing more than 2.3 per cent saturated fats – lifting the costs of butter by 30 per cent and a bag of chips by 8 per cent. In 2010, the country had raised excise taxes on chocolate, ice cream, sugary drinks and candy by 25 per cent.

• Hungary, in 2011, started taxing prepackaged foods high in sugar, salt or caffeine – including carbonated sugary drinks, cookies, jams and instant soups.

• Finland, in 2011, introduced a tax on sweets, chocolates and ice cream, and raised its existing excise tax on soft drinks.

• Belgium, Ireland, Romania, Italy and the United Kingdom have considered similar measures as obesity rates among their citizens surge.

Diabetes doctors back soda ban plan

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s proposal to put a cap on soda portions has been backed by a group of doctors in the United States.

A majority of Americans oppose the plan, considering it an unwelcome government intervention in their daily diets.

However, doctors who are treating diabetes patients believe that the state should do more to protect people from a food industry that seems bent on feeding them even bigger and, mostly, unhealthy, portions.

By latest count, more than two-thirds of the adults in the United States are either overweight or obese; excess weight contributes to health problems from diabetes to hypertension.

Obesity accounts for $190 billion in annual medical costs in the United States – or almost 21 per cent of the total, according to a recent study.

On an average, obese individuals incur $2,741 higher medical bills each year than other people do.

Sugary drinks have become the latest target in the fight against burgeoning obesity in the United States because the American Medical Association has estimated that 46 per cent of the nation’s intake of added sugars came from beverages.

It also believes that increasing taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages to a penny per ounce would lead to a 5 per cent drop in the prevalence of people who are overweight and obese, and cut medical costs by $17 billion within a decade.

Bloomberg’s large soda ban plan, tabled earlier this month, has found favor with healthcare professionals and experts who believe that sugar drinks only provide a lot of useless calories – with neither fat nor protein to counter that.

However, Coca-Cola Co has called the Bloomberg proposal an insult to New Yorkers.

The American Beverage Association, which represents the company as well as PepsiCo Inc and other soda makers, is fighting the measure.

New York City’s Board of Health is expected to vote on the measure by September and if approved, the regulations would take effect in March.

However, a court challenge looms.

Opponents, including a coalition of the beverage association, the National Restaurant Association, the National Association of Theatre Owners and others, are considering their options.

“We’re watching developments, but I can’t tell you at this point what we will do” in terms of legal or other strategy, said Gary Klein, general counsel of the theater owners group.

McDonald's burger advert photos secret revealed

Clearly this is one case where What You See Is NOT What You Get!

A McDonald's burger: reality and concept

Ever wondered why the McDonald's burger that you just ordered and are holding in your hand looks like a poor cousin to the one in the menu or on billboards? Well, even burgers go through a bout of make-up to show off its best side!
Well, that's marketing for you – the popular food giant's marketing director reveals the painstaking process behind the advert photos here.

America Revealed: Pizza Delivery | PBS UK

Watch this amazing video which charts in breathtaking detail the routes taken by Manhattan pizza delivery drivers on a Friday night to Domino's Pizza truck movement across the United States.

Here, you will find more extraordinary and stunning CGI images of America as it has never been seen before.

Thanks to Mark J. Perry.

The nations' burden - obesity

This from BMC Public Health:

"Increasing population fatness could have the same implications for world food energy demands as an extra half a billion people living on the earth."

This is the conclusion of a group of researchers from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine who say that people’s weight – not just population size – should be taken into account when planning how to deal with increasing pressure on the planet’s dwindling resources.

Key findings:

•               In 2005, global adult human biomass was approximately 287 million tonnes, of which 15 million tonnes were due to overweight (BMI > 25), a mass equivalent to that of 242 million people of average body mass (5% of global human biomass).

•               Biomass due to obesity was 3.5 million tonnes, the mass equivalent of 56 million people of average body mass (1.2% of human biomass).

•               North America has 6% of the world population but 34% of biomass due to obesity.

•               Asia has 61% of the world population but 13% of biomass due to obesity.

•               One tonne of human biomass corresponds to approximately 12 adults in North America and 17 adults in Asia.

•               If all countries had the BMI distribution of the United States, the increase in human biomass of 58 million tonnes would be equivalent in mass to an extra 935 million people of average body mass, and have energy requirements equivalent to that of 473 million adults.

Key facts from the World Health Organisation:

•               a BMI greater than or equal to 25 is overweight

•               a BMI greater than or equal to 30 is obesity.

More key facts:

•               Worldwide obesity has more than doubled since 1980.

•               In 2008, more than 1.4 billion adults, 20 and older, were overweight. Of these over 200 million men and nearly 300 million women were obese.

•               65% of the world's population live in countries where overweight and obesity kills more people than underweight.

•               More than 40 million children under the age of five were overweight in 2010.

Obesity is preventable.