September 4, 2007
Americans Losing Battle of the Bulge
Americans, it has been said, are more concerned with health issues than ever before. Unfortunately, for many of those very same consumers, the concern expressed in surveys has not led to the changes in personal habits required to bring about improved health.
A case in point is the nation’s weight. A number of recent studies have painted a troubling picture regarding what many professionals consider the single biggest challenge to health in America. Obesity has been directly connected to a variety of preventable public health ills including heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke and type 2 diabetes.
A study released this week by the Trust for America’s Health (TFAH), F as in Fat: How Obesity Policies are Failing in America, 2007, found obesity rates increased in 31 states while none saw a decrease. Twenty-two states saw obesity rates increase for the second year in a row.
“There has been a breakthrough in terms of drawing attention to the obesity epidemic. Now, we need a breakthrough in terms of policies and results,” said Jeff Levi, PhD, Executive Director of TFAH, in a press release. “Poor nutrition and physical inactivity are robbing America of our health and productivity.”
Mississippi had the most overweight adult population with more than 30 percent classified as obese. Of the 15 states with the highest percentage of adult obesity, 10 were from the South.
Washington, D.C. had the highest rate of overweight kids with nearly 23 percent of children between 10 and 17 having a body mass index greater than 30.
Another study from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health’s Center for Human Nutrition offered troubling projections.
Youfa Wang, MD, PhD, lead author of the study and an assistant professor at the Bloomberg School of Public Health’s Department of International Health, said in a press release, “The obesity rate in the United States has increased at an alarming rate over the past three decades… If the rate of obesity and overweight continues at this pace, by 2015, 75 percent of adults and nearly 24 percent of U.S. children and adolescents will be overweight or obese.”
Both studies found that certain groups (less educated, lower income, certain minority populations, including African-Americans and Hispanics) have higher rates of obesity than the general population.
The pervasiveness of the problem has created a huge industry as consumers have shown a continued willingness to spend in pursuit of weight loss. According to Marketdata, the U.S. weight loss market will reach $61 billion by next year.
Examples
of business opportunities and costs associated with obesity are everywhere
to be found. Consider:
- During its first quarter after going over-the-counter
(OTC), GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare’s Alli weight loss drug racked
up $155 million in sales. - Rite Aid has partnered with Lindora Medical Clinics to offer consumers
a medically supervised weight loss program. Specialized programs are offered
for adolescents and geriatric patients. - Companies are creating in-house wellness
programs and offering incentives to workers who make lifestyle changes to
reach a healthy weight. According to the American Journal of Health Promotion,
obesity costs companies of 1,000 people an average of $285,000 a year in
healthcare costs and absenteeism.
Discussion Questions: Do you see retailers becoming more aggressive in trying to help consumers and employees lose weight and live healthier lifestyles? Where do you see the business opportunities (in-store weight loss programs, medical equipment rentals/sales, OTC, pharmacy, etc.) coming out of people’s desire to either lose weight or their failure to deal with the problem? Will this be a business differentiator in the future?
BrainTrust
Recent Discussions
Discussion Questions
Poll
It would be a great breakthrough if chain retailers could form alliances with Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, etc. Typically the weight-loss folks compete with supermarkets and drug stores by selling various foods and supplements directly. And supermarkets don’t have the time or organization to form their own private label weight loss organizations. Some sell private label diet foods, but no social/sales support is provided.
When a person wants to stop smoking or drinking, going cold turkey is an option. The trouble with weight loss is that going cold turkey isn’t possible, so the temptation is continuous. Social/sales support can be a critical success factor. Michael’s stores have crafts lesson classrooms in every store. Barnes & Noble has a coffee bar in every store. Maybe every supermarket and drug store could use a Weight Watchers or Jenny Craig facility (meeting room and restaurant).
The following data comes from a group of people who participated in what we call a live-tagging process, where they quickly record what is happening surrounding the events being studied, in this case, exercise and eating. Statistical error: plus or minus 3%.
97% of all people report that they at least “sometimes” eat when they are not hungry.
100% of people categorized as technically “obese” report that they at least “sometimes” eat when they are not hungry.
100% of people report that just prior to these episodes, the thought of eating sounds more pleasurable than the thought of not eating.
100% of people report that during these episodes, their state of mind is more pleasurable when they are eating than just prior to eating.
100% of people labeled as technically “obese” and 97% of all people report that at least “sometimes,” eating makes them feel better emotionally. This confirms the data directly above.
100% of all people report that they at least “sometimes” continue to eat past the point that their hunger is satisfied.
100% of “obese” people report that the thought of exercising or exercising itself associates “all the time” with emotional unpleasantness. 89% of all people report that this occurs at least “sometimes.”
There is more data, but the point is that people overeat and don’t exercise for a reason. We are not looking at this reason at all; it is as if we think that somehow, just because there is a lot of food available, that some people will eat a lot of it, and that somehow others won’t. The data and conclusions I just presented may seem obvious to many of us, and yet we still do not take these facts into account as we try to solve this problem. I stand by my previous statement that “our research shows very clearly that the drivers of obesity are not related to food, hunger, or exercise.” Please note the word “drivers.” The drivers, as I think the data above indicates, are related to emotional unhappiness. Food and exercise are RESULTS of the drivers, not the drivers themselves.
I think that the suggestions about partnering with a Jenny Craig or WW is great. And probably quite helpful to consumers.
However, I believe that the epidemic itself, and the desperation of the people who are obese, create another opportunity: predator marketing.
Health clubs make money on people who pay memberships but don’t workout. Why? Because it is easier to spend money on something we “should” want than to actually change behaviors (which hurts more than just one’s wallet).
It stands to reason that a retailer which is promising results for a monthly fee, could issuing an invitation to purchase virtue, rather than actually pursue it. And who can resist that temptation?
The business of being big is big business.
I assume these numbers are coming from the same reports I have heard discussed over the past couple of weeks. The general discussion seems to be surprised at the correlation between obesity and income. That somehow people are thin, therefore they are rich. While to a certain extent this might be true, another perspective is that the cheapest form of entertainment is Television (even cheaper than video games, which must be a close second). It takes money to be able to take care of one’s self. Vitamins, gyms, and vacations all require money and time in order to participate. We forget that the average household income is $44,000.
So despite what our personal situation may be or what we may feel about the growing obesity problem, addressing it directly is going to be difficult because the “weight loss service providers” are going to need income from somewhere. Is it the role of government? Of course not. The partner in this whole thing is the employer and as one of the industries with the largest number of employees it makes sense for retailers (and their unions) to provide some opportunity for employees to improve their fitness. This could also be great way to build company loyalty as stores compete with each other to maximize weight loss. By providing facilities and training on diet and life style, retailers and unions can not only improve their relationship with their constituents, but also reduce the sick time absences and lower healthcare costs.
Makes sense to me….
Food marketers at all levels need to help harried parents and guardians in the battle against childhood obesity and type 2 diabetes. In particular, it is not only an opportunity, but in essence, a moral requirement that food manufacturers and food retailers offer solutions in the form of good-tasting, good-for-you offerings and timely, relevant nutrition programs and education. In particular, there is a significant opportunity for food retailers and food service companies to become the “community wellness champion.” Examples of activities that would foster this leadership perception include offering free screenings, health fairs, dietary advice, wellness programs, educational programs, community walks, recreation programs, foundation support, and merchandising programs.
This is a very important topic and one that Americans need to rally behind. When was the last time a fitness program was a priority in the schools, the JFK administration? Poor nutrition and physical inactivity is taught at a very young age. If this is what you are taught, it takes time to change your mindset and direction. Recently I was told by some coaches that kids dropped out of high school sports because it was too much work. They were made to run around the football field twice?!?! The only exercise many children are getting is with their hands playing video games.
The business opportunities are plentiful. Health checks, healthy recipe transformation contest, yoga/pilates clubs,etc. Is the real problem poor nutrition and physical inactivity or poor information? This is treating the symptom of the disease and not the disease itself. Is the problem more to do with self confidence, family of origin, parental guidance and pride? Fad dieting rarely works and a retailer that puts the focus on an overall lifestyle change approaching the mind, body and spirit will definitely hit a home run.
If eating too much food (i.e. calories) and exercising too little is not the cause behind obesity than what is? Also how is it that overweight and obese people who eat less and exercise more lose weight? Statements like that make me question the research cited by Mr. Cowgill.
Wow, I have not seen this much passion on a topic in a while. Go to any public event or place and watch people go by…we are huge. A recent report stated that Americans work longer hours and this seems to me to be a side effect of our hectic over scheduled lives as well as lack of exercise and will power.
Telling people what is low-fat, fat free, low-sodium, etc isn’t the answer (this includes the stoplight or star rating systems). The food industry as a whole (grocery, mass, supers, restaurants, schools, etc) needs to realize that what people really need to eat healthier is an education on portion sizes and portion control. It doesn’t matter how healthy the food may be nutritionally, if someone is consuming too many calories for their physical needs or eating an unbalanced diet, they will not see any benefits. If they don’t see the benefits they will quickly revert back to old habits.
The fact that so much time, effort and money has gone into advising people that they should eat less and exercise more, lose weight, be more active, maintain a healthy lifestyle etc has had so little effect reinforces, for me, the obvious conclusion that obesity will only cease to be a problem for any individual if and when that person decides to take action. Making that decision often means the individual feels bad about him or herself (possibly what Race means by the drivers) and that is not necessarily a good thing. Messages about doing what’s good for us in a world where we are also frightened incessantly about what the future holds, may simply result in shrugged shoulders and a doubt that there is any point trying to fight the tide. We are encouraged to believe that we lead busy lifestyles that must be dealt with conveniently. We are also into a second generation of people who believe this and don’t know how to identify or use good quality raw ingredients in the misguided conviction that cooking is hard work and takes too much time out of those busy lifestyles. So, for my solution to achieve the best of all possible worlds…
Stop trying to make a virtue of being virtuous, better to show rather than tell and, as others have said, get retailers linked with manufacturers (or farmers and growers??!!!) and customers (and schools to take a whole community approach?) to have cookery demonstrations and tastings perhaps against a clock to show how fast and easy it can be, with audience participation. I can see the entire PR strength of the food industry rising up against this–less demand for packaged and processed ready meals would not be good for them. BUT it all depends on how serious anyone really is about trying to reduce the proportion of the population that is getting increasingly huge.
How many times per show does Jay Leno mention Americans with a “fat ass?” At least twice, according to my TiVo avatar. It’s in the vernacular, obese people know who they are, they know they’re seen as outcasts, and yet they do nothing about it. How could a simple retailer hope to force these people to fix something that’s so deeply buried in their personas that they simply don’t wanna’? Retailers didn’t cause it, so how can they fix it? It’s like the so-called global warming: If we didn’t cause it, how can we fix it? (It’s a parallel line of thinking–get used to it.)
As previously mentioned in these spaces, late in the last century I conducted a study of obese, male, Mexican immigrants in Central Cal regarding their body type. They were all young because the older fat guys were already dead, and I didn’t check Green Cards. It came to light that their whale-like bodies were admired and encouraged (low-riders ride low for a reason). Tubbiness is somehow a sign of virility and strength. You simply can’t fight cultural stereotypes. Canned Spam still remains the #1 meat product consumed by Samoans in Hawaii. They aren’t stupid, they’re just adhering to cultural stereotypes.
The concern here, if there really is one, is the blame-game. Audience participation time: Who knows the meaning of the phrase, “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink?” “Beuhler, anyone, anyone?” We simply can’t fix something that the “fixables” do not consider needing fixing. (I’m copywriting that phrase and anyone challenging it vis-à-vis “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” don’t even go there. My avatar will sue you!)
Enough French-language clichés (i.e., cheese-eating surrender monkey phrases)? Here’s the 411: Individuals are responsible for their lives. If this is a surprising revelation, then please consult someone more intelligent than yourself. With respect to obese children with secondary diabetes, a condition allowed and even encouraged by their caretakers (i.e., often not parents), behead those caretakers. How can a responsible adult lead a child into diabetes, unless they are just stone stupid?
Oh, how true Nikki’s points are…as we chase yet another pill to remedy the situation. As we look around, physical fitness is being cut out of schools, portions have increased three-fold and our culture has slowly embraced the quick fix mentality that’s gotten us all in trouble.
Retailer involvement in this matter makes all the sense in the world if they seek to emotionally connect with shoppers at a deeper level–it says “we care.” But does it cause some conflict if they are helping folks shun products on the shelf that are serving as culprits? If it’s right for the customer, I vote who cares. But they have to get involved locally as well for it to really matter. I love Mark’s idea on having meetings on-site from some of the more respected groups and finding methods to not only educate, but support.
I’d like to see supermarkets, or any company for that matter, develop their own health management programs that help consumers deal with a number of issues from weight loss and exercise to smoking cessation.
But it’s the old saying–you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink. Consumers are faced with a very broad array of food choices. But look at what fast food is doing. Low-calorie, health, diet, etc are not [phrases that resonate with consumers, so they are now pushing double and triple bacon cheeseburgers that look like they’re going to fall over. Unfortunately, that’s what people want and it usually costs less than going healthy.
Similarly, supermarkets are not in business to lose money so if low-fat, low calorie, reduced-carb and healthy products do not sell, the shelves with be stocked with more profitable, and usually less healthy items. Unfortunately, these items are usually less expensive and, as you point out, appeal to lower income shoppers.
The supermarket has to take the lead in really showing people that they can eat pretty much anything they want–just in moderation. Focus recipe development, classes and shelf sets on that and the consumer’s hearts, minds and bellies will follow.
Grocery and restaurants are starting to step up–using “medically approved” or dietician-designed programs to help people make healthy food choices. McDonald’s has its smart menu, which features meals that meet certain criteria across a range of fat, calories, etc. And for the life of me, I cannot remember the grocery store, and can’t find the reference, but I very clearly remember reading about a grocery store that is rating most of the food it sells using a star system (5 stars – good, 1 star – bad), where a panel of doctors, dietitians, etc, designed the rating system. I want to say it was Publix. The sad sidebar to that effort was that the grocer found that less than 10% of what it sold qualified for the 5-star rating. Hmmmm.
It comes down to two things–when people don’t know how much they’re eating, they eat more. And the food industry in its broadest sense has done little to promote portion control. Also, the cheapest and easiest food is the worst food, health-wise. So without community communication and education–which retailers can certainly play a role in–we’re going to continue to build a vicious cycle around around our nation’s expanding waistlines.
We need grocery stores with large fresh departments in under-served, disadvantaged areas. We need to know what we’re putting in our mouths, not because we downloaded the little nutrition pdf online ages ago, but because we used that information to make better choices at the counter or the shelf.
And then there is advertising. For every Subway and Jared, there is going to be a Burger King, who makes their living off of deliberately being anti-dieting. But when the noise from the triple-stacked burgers that are 1500 calories with 100 grams of fat drowns out the weak cry of the lowly (and lower margin) carrot or celery, then of course we’re going to have a problem. The question is, do we have the “intestinal fortitude” to do enough to fix it?
Alliances may be the key here for supermarkets, whether it is with health professionals, health clubs or weight loss companies. Objective, accurate and easy to understand information is needed by shoppers to help them make better choices, although the motivation needs to come from within to make a change in diet and exercise habits.
There are two assumptions surrounding this problem that our research shows are not really true, and that hinder making progress on this issue:
1. Obesity is about eating too much food and getting too little exercise. Our research shows very clearly that the drivers of obesity are not related to food, hunger, or exercise. This is where Science is really failing us, because it cannot address the real drivers.
2. Information will solve the problem. As in so many critical areas, we have found that information does NOT help people/businesses change. No wonder, since our constant use of the information-tool yields so little results.
Clearly, we as a society don’t understand this problem and are not aware of the more advanced tools that exist to deal with it. Given that the problem is not really food or exercise related, many businesses can make lots and lots of money focusing on these incorrect assumptions, and do very little to help us. A better idea would be for businesses to come to life that have a more accurate understanding of what is really happening, and offer us truly useful tools.
I agree with Mark, the issue that consumers really need help with is the emotional support. A staffed reinforcement center in store would be so helpful to consumers. Imagine if you could stop at an in-store kiosk for a “tip sheet” of the week, perhaps it would have some key “good food” items at value prices, a recipe or two, and some motivational advice. Now imagine the staffer that gave it to you had some nutrition background and offered to shop with you for 10 minutes and give you a few tips that would help you have better snack options in your pantry….
Maybe some retailers could test this with interns by working with colleges that offer nutrition or dietitian degrees? It could build shopper loyalty and job opportunities that support a healthier population as well.
Grocery stores need to get assistance from objective sources on how to provide the consumer with fat free and low fat product mix and assortment. Over the past few years, the emergence of low carb selections have thrived at the expense of low fat and non fat food alternatives. This is unfortunate, and also very frustrating, for consumers desiring to purchase low fat products. Moreover, many grocers have altogether discontinued fat free and low fat ice creams, frozen yogurts, and other related items, in favor of reduced fat, low carbs, and half the fat. With IRI and the major brands influencing so heavily (pun intended) how many supermarket chains dictate their assortment, it doesn’t look good for healthy low fat selections. I hope this trend changes.
As Americans, we are taught as school children what foods we are to eat. This teaching is based upon the wisdom of the food processors, the meat and dairy industries and the Food and Drug Administration. The fact is, the human body was never designed to consume the majority of the “foods” sold today in supermarkets nor foods served in restaurants. Our taste buds have been altered by these foods such that we have constant cravings for them. As a result, we no longer crave the healthy foods that our taste buds were programmed for at birth.
The foods that our body was designed to use as our fuel are primarily uncooked vegetables, fruit, nuts and seeds. When people stop fueling their bodies with the Standard American Diet (SAD) and make the change to the real foods from nature, the excess pounds will shed with ease. As a side benefit, the diseases that most Americans have will go away, because the body is being fueled with foods that the body’s immune system can use to perform the healing. A month or two after making the change to raw natural foods, our taste buds will return to normal (as they were at birth).
More Discussions
How Timely Is the Planned Lowe’s Website Renovation Focusing on Personalization?
Is Lowe’s being timely with its website reno, and is it right to be placed as…Should Costco Be Opening Members-Only Gas Stations?
Is this the right move for the warehouse club?As Boomers ‘Age Out of Peak Purchasing,’ How Can National Brands Retain Interest With Gen Z?
According to a recent First Insight study titled “Is Gen Z Still Choosing Your Brand,” while…
It would be a great breakthrough if chain retailers could form alliances with Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, etc. Typically the weight-loss folks compete with supermarkets and drug stores by selling various foods and supplements directly. And supermarkets don’t have the time or organization to form their own private label weight loss organizations. Some sell private label diet foods, but no social/sales support is provided.
When a person wants to stop smoking or drinking, going cold turkey is an option. The trouble with weight loss is that going cold turkey isn’t possible, so the temptation is continuous. Social/sales support can be a critical success factor. Michael’s stores have crafts lesson classrooms in every store. Barnes & Noble has a coffee bar in every store. Maybe every supermarket and drug store could use a Weight Watchers or Jenny Craig facility (meeting room and restaurant).
The following data comes from a group of people who participated in what we call a live-tagging process, where they quickly record what is happening surrounding the events being studied, in this case, exercise and eating. Statistical error: plus or minus 3%.
97% of all people report that they at least “sometimes” eat when they are not hungry.
100% of people categorized as technically “obese” report that they at least “sometimes” eat when they are not hungry.
100% of people report that just prior to these episodes, the thought of eating sounds more pleasurable than the thought of not eating.
100% of people report that during these episodes, their state of mind is more pleasurable when they are eating than just prior to eating.
100% of people labeled as technically “obese” and 97% of all people report that at least “sometimes,” eating makes them feel better emotionally. This confirms the data directly above.
100% of all people report that they at least “sometimes” continue to eat past the point that their hunger is satisfied.
100% of “obese” people report that the thought of exercising or exercising itself associates “all the time” with emotional unpleasantness. 89% of all people report that this occurs at least “sometimes.”
There is more data, but the point is that people overeat and don’t exercise for a reason. We are not looking at this reason at all; it is as if we think that somehow, just because there is a lot of food available, that some people will eat a lot of it, and that somehow others won’t. The data and conclusions I just presented may seem obvious to many of us, and yet we still do not take these facts into account as we try to solve this problem. I stand by my previous statement that “our research shows very clearly that the drivers of obesity are not related to food, hunger, or exercise.” Please note the word “drivers.” The drivers, as I think the data above indicates, are related to emotional unhappiness. Food and exercise are RESULTS of the drivers, not the drivers themselves.
I think that the suggestions about partnering with a Jenny Craig or WW is great. And probably quite helpful to consumers.
However, I believe that the epidemic itself, and the desperation of the people who are obese, create another opportunity: predator marketing.
Health clubs make money on people who pay memberships but don’t workout. Why? Because it is easier to spend money on something we “should” want than to actually change behaviors (which hurts more than just one’s wallet).
It stands to reason that a retailer which is promising results for a monthly fee, could issuing an invitation to purchase virtue, rather than actually pursue it. And who can resist that temptation?
The business of being big is big business.
I assume these numbers are coming from the same reports I have heard discussed over the past couple of weeks. The general discussion seems to be surprised at the correlation between obesity and income. That somehow people are thin, therefore they are rich. While to a certain extent this might be true, another perspective is that the cheapest form of entertainment is Television (even cheaper than video games, which must be a close second). It takes money to be able to take care of one’s self. Vitamins, gyms, and vacations all require money and time in order to participate. We forget that the average household income is $44,000.
So despite what our personal situation may be or what we may feel about the growing obesity problem, addressing it directly is going to be difficult because the “weight loss service providers” are going to need income from somewhere. Is it the role of government? Of course not. The partner in this whole thing is the employer and as one of the industries with the largest number of employees it makes sense for retailers (and their unions) to provide some opportunity for employees to improve their fitness. This could also be great way to build company loyalty as stores compete with each other to maximize weight loss. By providing facilities and training on diet and life style, retailers and unions can not only improve their relationship with their constituents, but also reduce the sick time absences and lower healthcare costs.
Makes sense to me….
Food marketers at all levels need to help harried parents and guardians in the battle against childhood obesity and type 2 diabetes. In particular, it is not only an opportunity, but in essence, a moral requirement that food manufacturers and food retailers offer solutions in the form of good-tasting, good-for-you offerings and timely, relevant nutrition programs and education. In particular, there is a significant opportunity for food retailers and food service companies to become the “community wellness champion.” Examples of activities that would foster this leadership perception include offering free screenings, health fairs, dietary advice, wellness programs, educational programs, community walks, recreation programs, foundation support, and merchandising programs.
This is a very important topic and one that Americans need to rally behind. When was the last time a fitness program was a priority in the schools, the JFK administration? Poor nutrition and physical inactivity is taught at a very young age. If this is what you are taught, it takes time to change your mindset and direction. Recently I was told by some coaches that kids dropped out of high school sports because it was too much work. They were made to run around the football field twice?!?! The only exercise many children are getting is with their hands playing video games.
The business opportunities are plentiful. Health checks, healthy recipe transformation contest, yoga/pilates clubs,etc. Is the real problem poor nutrition and physical inactivity or poor information? This is treating the symptom of the disease and not the disease itself. Is the problem more to do with self confidence, family of origin, parental guidance and pride? Fad dieting rarely works and a retailer that puts the focus on an overall lifestyle change approaching the mind, body and spirit will definitely hit a home run.
If eating too much food (i.e. calories) and exercising too little is not the cause behind obesity than what is? Also how is it that overweight and obese people who eat less and exercise more lose weight? Statements like that make me question the research cited by Mr. Cowgill.
Wow, I have not seen this much passion on a topic in a while. Go to any public event or place and watch people go by…we are huge. A recent report stated that Americans work longer hours and this seems to me to be a side effect of our hectic over scheduled lives as well as lack of exercise and will power.
Telling people what is low-fat, fat free, low-sodium, etc isn’t the answer (this includes the stoplight or star rating systems). The food industry as a whole (grocery, mass, supers, restaurants, schools, etc) needs to realize that what people really need to eat healthier is an education on portion sizes and portion control. It doesn’t matter how healthy the food may be nutritionally, if someone is consuming too many calories for their physical needs or eating an unbalanced diet, they will not see any benefits. If they don’t see the benefits they will quickly revert back to old habits.
The fact that so much time, effort and money has gone into advising people that they should eat less and exercise more, lose weight, be more active, maintain a healthy lifestyle etc has had so little effect reinforces, for me, the obvious conclusion that obesity will only cease to be a problem for any individual if and when that person decides to take action. Making that decision often means the individual feels bad about him or herself (possibly what Race means by the drivers) and that is not necessarily a good thing. Messages about doing what’s good for us in a world where we are also frightened incessantly about what the future holds, may simply result in shrugged shoulders and a doubt that there is any point trying to fight the tide. We are encouraged to believe that we lead busy lifestyles that must be dealt with conveniently. We are also into a second generation of people who believe this and don’t know how to identify or use good quality raw ingredients in the misguided conviction that cooking is hard work and takes too much time out of those busy lifestyles. So, for my solution to achieve the best of all possible worlds…
Stop trying to make a virtue of being virtuous, better to show rather than tell and, as others have said, get retailers linked with manufacturers (or farmers and growers??!!!) and customers (and schools to take a whole community approach?) to have cookery demonstrations and tastings perhaps against a clock to show how fast and easy it can be, with audience participation. I can see the entire PR strength of the food industry rising up against this–less demand for packaged and processed ready meals would not be good for them. BUT it all depends on how serious anyone really is about trying to reduce the proportion of the population that is getting increasingly huge.
How many times per show does Jay Leno mention Americans with a “fat ass?” At least twice, according to my TiVo avatar. It’s in the vernacular, obese people know who they are, they know they’re seen as outcasts, and yet they do nothing about it. How could a simple retailer hope to force these people to fix something that’s so deeply buried in their personas that they simply don’t wanna’? Retailers didn’t cause it, so how can they fix it? It’s like the so-called global warming: If we didn’t cause it, how can we fix it? (It’s a parallel line of thinking–get used to it.)
As previously mentioned in these spaces, late in the last century I conducted a study of obese, male, Mexican immigrants in Central Cal regarding their body type. They were all young because the older fat guys were already dead, and I didn’t check Green Cards. It came to light that their whale-like bodies were admired and encouraged (low-riders ride low for a reason). Tubbiness is somehow a sign of virility and strength. You simply can’t fight cultural stereotypes. Canned Spam still remains the #1 meat product consumed by Samoans in Hawaii. They aren’t stupid, they’re just adhering to cultural stereotypes.
The concern here, if there really is one, is the blame-game. Audience participation time: Who knows the meaning of the phrase, “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink?” “Beuhler, anyone, anyone?” We simply can’t fix something that the “fixables” do not consider needing fixing. (I’m copywriting that phrase and anyone challenging it vis-à-vis “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” don’t even go there. My avatar will sue you!)
Enough French-language clichés (i.e., cheese-eating surrender monkey phrases)? Here’s the 411: Individuals are responsible for their lives. If this is a surprising revelation, then please consult someone more intelligent than yourself. With respect to obese children with secondary diabetes, a condition allowed and even encouraged by their caretakers (i.e., often not parents), behead those caretakers. How can a responsible adult lead a child into diabetes, unless they are just stone stupid?
Oh, how true Nikki’s points are…as we chase yet another pill to remedy the situation. As we look around, physical fitness is being cut out of schools, portions have increased three-fold and our culture has slowly embraced the quick fix mentality that’s gotten us all in trouble.
Retailer involvement in this matter makes all the sense in the world if they seek to emotionally connect with shoppers at a deeper level–it says “we care.” But does it cause some conflict if they are helping folks shun products on the shelf that are serving as culprits? If it’s right for the customer, I vote who cares. But they have to get involved locally as well for it to really matter. I love Mark’s idea on having meetings on-site from some of the more respected groups and finding methods to not only educate, but support.
I’d like to see supermarkets, or any company for that matter, develop their own health management programs that help consumers deal with a number of issues from weight loss and exercise to smoking cessation.
But it’s the old saying–you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink. Consumers are faced with a very broad array of food choices. But look at what fast food is doing. Low-calorie, health, diet, etc are not [phrases that resonate with consumers, so they are now pushing double and triple bacon cheeseburgers that look like they’re going to fall over. Unfortunately, that’s what people want and it usually costs less than going healthy.
Similarly, supermarkets are not in business to lose money so if low-fat, low calorie, reduced-carb and healthy products do not sell, the shelves with be stocked with more profitable, and usually less healthy items. Unfortunately, these items are usually less expensive and, as you point out, appeal to lower income shoppers.
The supermarket has to take the lead in really showing people that they can eat pretty much anything they want–just in moderation. Focus recipe development, classes and shelf sets on that and the consumer’s hearts, minds and bellies will follow.
Grocery and restaurants are starting to step up–using “medically approved” or dietician-designed programs to help people make healthy food choices. McDonald’s has its smart menu, which features meals that meet certain criteria across a range of fat, calories, etc. And for the life of me, I cannot remember the grocery store, and can’t find the reference, but I very clearly remember reading about a grocery store that is rating most of the food it sells using a star system (5 stars – good, 1 star – bad), where a panel of doctors, dietitians, etc, designed the rating system. I want to say it was Publix. The sad sidebar to that effort was that the grocer found that less than 10% of what it sold qualified for the 5-star rating. Hmmmm.
It comes down to two things–when people don’t know how much they’re eating, they eat more. And the food industry in its broadest sense has done little to promote portion control. Also, the cheapest and easiest food is the worst food, health-wise. So without community communication and education–which retailers can certainly play a role in–we’re going to continue to build a vicious cycle around around our nation’s expanding waistlines.
We need grocery stores with large fresh departments in under-served, disadvantaged areas. We need to know what we’re putting in our mouths, not because we downloaded the little nutrition pdf online ages ago, but because we used that information to make better choices at the counter or the shelf.
And then there is advertising. For every Subway and Jared, there is going to be a Burger King, who makes their living off of deliberately being anti-dieting. But when the noise from the triple-stacked burgers that are 1500 calories with 100 grams of fat drowns out the weak cry of the lowly (and lower margin) carrot or celery, then of course we’re going to have a problem. The question is, do we have the “intestinal fortitude” to do enough to fix it?
Alliances may be the key here for supermarkets, whether it is with health professionals, health clubs or weight loss companies. Objective, accurate and easy to understand information is needed by shoppers to help them make better choices, although the motivation needs to come from within to make a change in diet and exercise habits.
There are two assumptions surrounding this problem that our research shows are not really true, and that hinder making progress on this issue:
1. Obesity is about eating too much food and getting too little exercise. Our research shows very clearly that the drivers of obesity are not related to food, hunger, or exercise. This is where Science is really failing us, because it cannot address the real drivers.
2. Information will solve the problem. As in so many critical areas, we have found that information does NOT help people/businesses change. No wonder, since our constant use of the information-tool yields so little results.
Clearly, we as a society don’t understand this problem and are not aware of the more advanced tools that exist to deal with it. Given that the problem is not really food or exercise related, many businesses can make lots and lots of money focusing on these incorrect assumptions, and do very little to help us. A better idea would be for businesses to come to life that have a more accurate understanding of what is really happening, and offer us truly useful tools.
I agree with Mark, the issue that consumers really need help with is the emotional support. A staffed reinforcement center in store would be so helpful to consumers. Imagine if you could stop at an in-store kiosk for a “tip sheet” of the week, perhaps it would have some key “good food” items at value prices, a recipe or two, and some motivational advice. Now imagine the staffer that gave it to you had some nutrition background and offered to shop with you for 10 minutes and give you a few tips that would help you have better snack options in your pantry….
Maybe some retailers could test this with interns by working with colleges that offer nutrition or dietitian degrees? It could build shopper loyalty and job opportunities that support a healthier population as well.
Grocery stores need to get assistance from objective sources on how to provide the consumer with fat free and low fat product mix and assortment. Over the past few years, the emergence of low carb selections have thrived at the expense of low fat and non fat food alternatives. This is unfortunate, and also very frustrating, for consumers desiring to purchase low fat products. Moreover, many grocers have altogether discontinued fat free and low fat ice creams, frozen yogurts, and other related items, in favor of reduced fat, low carbs, and half the fat. With IRI and the major brands influencing so heavily (pun intended) how many supermarket chains dictate their assortment, it doesn’t look good for healthy low fat selections. I hope this trend changes.
As Americans, we are taught as school children what foods we are to eat. This teaching is based upon the wisdom of the food processors, the meat and dairy industries and the Food and Drug Administration. The fact is, the human body was never designed to consume the majority of the “foods” sold today in supermarkets nor foods served in restaurants. Our taste buds have been altered by these foods such that we have constant cravings for them. As a result, we no longer crave the healthy foods that our taste buds were programmed for at birth.
The foods that our body was designed to use as our fuel are primarily uncooked vegetables, fruit, nuts and seeds. When people stop fueling their bodies with the Standard American Diet (SAD) and make the change to the real foods from nature, the excess pounds will shed with ease. As a side benefit, the diseases that most Americans have will go away, because the body is being fueled with foods that the body’s immune system can use to perform the healing. A month or two after making the change to raw natural foods, our taste buds will return to normal (as they were at birth).