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Researcher
Links Food, Car Ads to Obesity Epidemic
Food and automobile companies are spending billions of dollars
in advertising to promote conveniences that, over time,
may be key factors in rising rates of obesity, according
to one Massachusetts researcher.
And obesity, he notes, puts people at greater risk of developing
type 2 diabetes, which is approaching "epidemic proportions".
In 2001, nearly $25 billion was spent on advertisements
for relatively inexpensive, convenient and high-calorie
fast foods and other foods, sweets, and beverages, as well
as labor-saving automobiles, both of which help to reduce
many people's levels of habitual activity.
"We are experiencing epidemic rates of obesity and
related diseases such as type 2 diabetes in the US and we
need to look at this emerging problem with a new set of
eyes," Dr. Garry Welch of the Joslin Diabetes Center
in Boston told Reuters Health.
The rate of obesity among US adults has increased by 74%
since 1991, according to a recent report from the US Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Rates in Canada
and some other countries have also rose at disturbing rates.
Extremely obese people have a seven-fold greater risk of
diabetes, according to the CDC report, and are more likely
to have high blood pressure and arthritis than people with
normal body weights.
In a letter to the editor published in an issue of Diabetes
Care, Welch wrote that the amount of advertising to promote
"products that could be argued to directly and indirectly
promote obesity is alarming."
"If we look at the drivers of this obesity/diabetes
epidemic they come from our rapidly changing US culture
where our food and exercise habits are deteriorating as
our lives get more complicated and busy," he added
in an E-mail interview. "At the heart of these cultural
changes are business and political forces that are actively
shaping our habits and way of life."
Welch examined 2001 US spending on brand advertising via
print, television, radio and other media, and found that
advertising for fast foods amounted to $3.5 billion--for
just nine different brands. In a separate analysis of advertising
for foods, confections and beverages, an additional $5.8
billion was spent, including nearly $786 million for the
top five brands of soda.
Advertisements for automobiles were even more costly, totaling
$15.5 billion, he reports.
Yet the CDC's total administrative budget barely topped
$5 billion that year, according to the researcher. The US
Food and Drug Administration's budget was just $1.3 billion.
In light of his findings, Welch believes "there is
a parallel with our historical smoking problem." Just
as nicotine addiction and lung cancer could be attributed
to "aggressive business practices" in the tobacco
industry, he said, "obesity and type 2 diabetes are
toxic side effects in the case of promotion of fast foods,
cars, etc. to everyone."
"Only when we have a clear understanding of the cultural
problem we face regarding obesity and type 2 diabetes and
have educated the US public about this, much in the way
we went from ignorance to awareness regarding the cigarette
industry, will we have the platform to make meaningful changes
in business practices promoting obesity," he added.
Welch is not advocating that a slew of lawsuits be brought
against the fast food or automobile industry, particularly
since there are key differences between these products and
cigarettes. For example, "the tobacco industry was
cynically and knowingly hiding the dangers of its products
for decades to keep the cash cow alive," he said.
Rather, Welch argues that obesity-promoting industries should
contribute financially to obesity research, "to help
us understand the cultural problems we face and the development
of responsible and healthy food and exercise practices.
"We live in a society that strongly shapes our daily
eating and exercise habits and makes it very difficult to
keep lean and fit," Welch added. "It is time to
start looking at the business and political forces that
create this increasingly unhealthy society and to push back."
In response to Welch's letter and comments, Gene Grabowski,
a spokesman for the American Council for Fitness and Nutrition
(ACFN), said he agrees that more funding is needed for obesity
research.
The ACFN is a consortium of food, beverage and consumer
products companies, not-for-profit organizations and trade
associations whose stated mission is to promote research,
education and policies that encourage a healthy balance
between fitness and nutrition.
"We accept our responsibility, but we need help,"
he said, explaining that the food industry has been contributing
millions of dollars for over a decade toward obesity research
and also is distributing nutrition information via nutritionists
and over Web sites.
In fact, Grabowski said, the three main issues for the
council include advocating for better nutrition and fitness
information for parents, getting physical education back
into schools and getting more federal funding for research
on obesity.
Further, Grabowski said that especially in recent years,
marketing and advertising for high fat foods is "pretty
balanced" with that for healthier fare. Much of prime
time advertising in particular has been aimed toward weight
conscious baby boomers, he said, so "no fat, low fat
foods have been the rage for the past five years."
While Grabowski acknowledges the lack of data to support
his claim that "better-for-you foods" are advertised
and marketed just as heavily as less healthy foods, he said
that there is also no data to support the idea that heavy
advertising may somehow be linked--indirectly or directly--to
rising rates of obesity and type 2 diabetes.
SOURCE: Diabetes Care 2003;26:546-547.
Article Source: Reuters Health
Article Author: N/A
Net Reference 89
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