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Food industry dooms children to obesity, says scientist

14/08/2006- A US paediatrician has said that childhood obesity is due to the high-calorie, low-fibre Western diets that cause hormonal imbalances that encourage children to overeat. The study, published in Nature Clinical Practice Endocrinology & Metabolism (Vol. 2, pp. 447-458), has been picked up by many national and international news agencies, and keeps the food industry firmly in the cross hairs in the struggle against obesity. The statements by Dr. Robert Lustig from the University of California, San Francisco, has stoked the fires of the blame game by accusing Western food manufacturing practices of creating a "toxic environment" that "dooms children to being overweight." While the food industry has made efforts to cut fat content in some foods, remove trans-fats and offer healthy alternatives, obesity in children and adults is continuing to rise. The incidence of childhood obesity grew from 9.6 per cent in 1995 to 13.7 per cent in 2003 in the UK alone. EU figures estimate that around 14m EU children are currently overweight or obese, of which more than three million are obese. Obesity now costs the NHS around 1.6bn a year and the UK economy a further 2.3bn of indirect costs. If this trend continues, the annual cost to the economy could be 3.6bn a year by 2010. "It will take acknowledgement of the concepts of biological susceptibility and societal accountability and de-emphasis of the concept of personal responsibility to make a difference in the lives of children," said Lustig. Lustig said that it well established that insulin acts on the brain to encourage eating through two separate mechanisms. First, it blocks the signals that travel from the body's fat stores to the brain by suppressing the effectiveness of the hormone leptin, resulting in increased food intake and decreased activity. Second, insulin promotes the signal that seeks the reward of eating carried by the chemical dopamine, which makes a person want to eat to get the pleasurable dopamine 'rush'. "Our current Western food environment has become highly 'insulinogenic,' as demonstrated by its increased energy density, high-fat content, high glycaemic index, increased fructose composition, decreased fibre, and decreased dairy content," said Lustig. "In particular, fructose (too much) and fibre (not enough) appear to be cornerstones of the obesity epidemic through their effects on insulin." Lustig said that changes in food processing over the past 30 years, particularly the addition of sugar to a wide variety of foods that once never included sugar and the removal of fibre, both of which promote insulin production, have created an environment in which foods are essentially addictive. Lustig also dismissed claims by some that, when it comes to children, individuals choose what to eat: "Young children are not responsible for food choices at home or at school, and it can hardly be said that preschool children, in whom obesity is rampant, are in a position to accept personal responsibility," said Lustig. "If we don't fix this, our children will continue to lose," he said. Professor Michael Lean, holder of the Rank Chair of Human Nutrition at the University of Glasgow, told FoodNavigator.com that the concept of the "toxic environment" was not new, but agreed that the food industry must display "corporate social responsibly" when it comes to the obesity issue. Professor Lean told FoodNavigator.com that obesity is due to two things - the amount of fat as a proportion of calories consumed, and the level of physical activity. Lean also said that consumers do not generally make food choices that are informed by nutritional knowledge "It is an inescapable truth that food is responsible for the obesity epidemic in connection with physical activity," said Professor Lean. Offering a different perspective, a recent report from the UK-based Ethical Investment Research Services (EIRIS) said that the food industry was not to blame for customers weight problems. However, the report Obesity concerns in the food and beverage industry said that the industry must accept that significant damage will be done if it is not seen to be responding to the problem. "Our research revealed little evidence of obesity-related improvement targets and key performance indicators from the multi-national food and beverage firms we analysed," said report author and EIRIS research analyst Heleen Bulckens. "Food and drink producers are waking up to the business risks associated with obesity, but significant challenges remain." And the UK food industry has been keen to point out that it is investing in programmes to help tackle obesity and that the UK industry remained committed to working with Government through the Small Change, Big Difference campaign to encourage individuals to adopt healthier lifestyles. "Billions of pounds have been invested by industry to broaden the range of healthier food choices and to reduce levels of fat, salt and sugar. A number of manufacturers are rolling out clear labelling on the front of packs based on Guideline Daily Amounts to help them to do this," said FDF director general Melanie Leech recently.

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You Do What You Eat
By Marco Visscher, Ode. Posted September 8, 2005.

Press-Enterprise, Southern
California's Inland Empire newspape
Gobbling greens District officials hope students will establish good eating habits 12:24 AM PST on Sunday, March 20, 2005 By JACQUIE PAUL / The Press-Enterprise RIVERSIDE - On pizza day at Jefferson Elementary School, most youngsters were more interested in lettuce, broccoli and strawberries. A long line formed outside the school's cafeteria as students waited to heap trays with fresh goods from the new Farmer's Market Salad Bar Lunch Program. The program, which brings locally grown produce into school lunchrooms, started at Jefferson this month and will come to all of the district's elementary schools within the next two years, said Rodney Taylor, director of nutrition services for the Riverside Unified School District. It is the first program of its kind in the Inland area. Children said they like the choices they get. Kurt Miller / the Press-Enterprise Jefferson Elementary School students get a salad bar as part of a program that brings locally grown produce into school lunchrooms. "If I'm going to get your child to be a lifelong healthy eater, I need to get him in kindergarten," said Rodney Taylor, the director of nutrition services for the Riverside Unified School District. "I like the fruit that they have," 6-year-old Kayla Appleby said. In fact, the first-grader said, everything is good "except the tuna." "I love salad because it can make me healthy. It makes you strong," she added. District officials hope the salad bars will provide youngsters with a chance to choose their own fresh foods and will help them to learn healthy habits that will last a lifetime. That's especially important, Taylor said, given increasing concerns about childhood obesity. "If I'm going to get your child to be a lifelong healthy eater, I need to get him in kindergarten," Taylor said. Psst, Veggies Beckon So far, persuading youngsters to make healthy choices hasn't been a problem, Taylor said. In the first week, an average of three-fourths of the students buying lunch chose the salad bar option, Taylor said. The numbers were nearly as high in the second week, when an average of 72 percent of children who bought lunch chose the salad bar. An average of 753 total meals were sold the first week and an additional 694 were sold the second week, Taylor said. The results were so phenomenal that the staff wasn't quite prepared the first day. Cafeteria workers "were running to the supermarket, running for quarts of yogurt," Taylor said. "The first day, we did not get all the kids through (the line) before lunch was over," Taylor said. District nutritionists have been monitoring the salad bar and suggesting choices students can make to get the right balance of vegetables, fruits, proteins and grains. Teachers get their greens right alongside students so that they are modeling healthy behavior, Taylor said. "It's really good," resource specialist Pam Pillow said. "I hope it just makes them healthier." If students learn to love fruits and vegetables at school, they may be more likely to ask their parents to provide those items at home and may make better choices when eating out, said Dr. Desiree Backman, manager of the California 5 a Day--for Better Health! campaign. That's especially important given the rising levels of obese children and adults in California and nationwide, she said. One-third of California children ages 9 to 11 and one-fourth of 12 to 17-year-olds are overweight or at risk of becoming overweight. "That' a huge public health threat," Backman said A Good Example Taylor hopes to have salad bars at every district elementary school within the next two years. Jefferson's salad bar, meanwhile, will serve as a demonstration site to be studied by other schools and districts. Officials with the Center for Food and Justice at Occidental College also will study the Jefferson program and will analyze its usage and cost effectiveness. Occidental staff wrote the proposal for the $186,000 California Endowment grant covering costs for Riverside's pilot salad bar project. The Riverside program is the third of its kind in Southern California, said Moira Beery, program coordinator of the California Farm to School Program. The first was begun in the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District. A second is housed in Compton. Taylor started the Santa Monica program working in conjunction with Robert Gottlieb, director of the Urban and Environmental Policy Institute at Occidental. About 30 school districts statewide offer versions of Farm to School programs, Beckman said. The Farmer's Market Salad Bar Lunch Program marries the resources of local farms with schools, Beery said. Other components of the program include teaching children about nutrition, taking them to local farms so they can see how food is grown, bringing chefs into schools to demonstrate how to prepare nutritious meals and having children grow their own produce in school gardens. Nurturing Good Habits Experts cite a number of factors as contributors to the obesity problem: Too much television. Too much soda. Super-sized fast-food meals. Taylor acknowledges the problem cannot be easily solved. The salad bars, however, may nurture a habit of healthy eating that will help guide children into adulthood, he said. "If we took sodas out of schools tomorrow, that's not going to solve our obesity problem," Taylor said. "It's not a simple as that." "What' I'm trying to do is modify children's behavior, their eating behavior. You're going to have a generation of kids, who, by the time they're in middle school, they will still be able to make healthy choices." The Center for Food and Justice Urban and Environmental Policy Institute Occidental College, Los Angeles, CA (323) 341-5099 http://www.uepi.oxy.edu http://www.farmtoschool.org

Back To School -- Junk Food Equals Big Profits, Minus Healthy Kids
Commentary, Michele Simon,
Pacific News Service, Sep 03, 2004

As children head back to public schools this fall, they will face not only
the usual challenges brought on by shrinking budgets, but also an increasing
onslaught of junk foods, thanks to a powerful industry that profits from
peddling fat and sugar.

In May, a national survey by the Center for Science in the Public Interest
revealed that 75 percent of beverages and 85 percent of snacks sold in
school vending machines were of poor nutritional quality -- soda, chips,
cookies and candy. While nominal nutrition standards apply to federal school
meals, anything goes for all other foods, which are sold mere steps away
from the lunch line.

Over the last two years, increased focus on the dual epidemics of childhood
obesity and diabetes has resulted in a groundswell of action. All across the
country, parents, teachers, policymakers and others are organizing to take
back their schools from the clutches of Coke and Fritos.

But mega-corporations don't go down without a fight, not with so much money
at stake. Schools mean big business to the junk food industry, not just for
the cash they generate, but also for the opportunity to create lifelong
brand loyalty among an impressionable and captive audience.

Last year, California lawmakers tried to ban the sale of sodas in schools,
but heavy lobbying from the soda industry resulted is an exemption for high
schools where, not coincidentally, most soda is sold. The bill's author,
California state Senator Deborah Ortiz, says she was very disappointed with
the compromise, but "the food and beverage industries are extremely
powerful." Testifying against the bill was the California-Nevada Soft Drink
Association, a trade group whose members include Coca-Cola and PespiCo.

Just last month, California tried to set nutrition guidelines on foods sold
outside the federal meal program. But thanks to last-minute lobbying by the
Grocery Manufacturer's of America (GMA), that bill failed by just five
votes, despite having the support of 80 nonprofit organizations. Only five
groups opposed the measure -- all of whom profit from selling junk food to
kids.

Back to School, page-2

GMA's 140 members enjoy annual sales of more than $500 billion in the U.S.
alone, and consist of major food corporations such as Kraft, Nestle and
PepsiCo. GMA is on record as opposing virtually every state bill across the
nation that would restrict the sale of junk food or soda in schools. A state
as large as California represents huge business, so a defeat there would be
devastating both for the lost profits and because of the potential domino
effect.

Similar stories have been repeated all across the country -- industry
lobbying resulting in either weakened or killed legislation. For example, in
Indiana, Coca-Cola sent a team of five lobbyists (including a regional vice
president) to defeat a bill to restrict soda sales in schools.

Also, the state of Washington recently tried to pass legislation that would
have banned selling junk food and soda in schools, but 17 revisions later,
the bill just requires that schools have some sort of food policy. Last year
in Connecticut, advocates attempted to pass nutrition guidelines, but also
wound up with a watered-down law, thanks to high-paid lobbying by both Coke
and Pepsi.

While all this political activity is going on behind the scenes, these
companies -- who care enormously about their corporate image -- are also
spending large sums of money on public relations in the wake of increasing
criticism.

PepsiCo has created an entire website (www.healthispower.net) devoted to
convincing the public that it cares about children's health. Coca-Cola touts
its "Model Guidelines for School Beverage Partnerships," which recommends
not offering soda in elementary schools during the school day, but after
school is fine. Does Coke care less about children's health after school? At
one high school in Maine where soda becomes available after the bell rings,
the bus is delayed because kids are busy getting their fix before they
board.

No matter how hard the soda and junk food companies try to position
themselves as "responsible corporate citizens," the truth is they care more
about the health of their own bottom lines than that of children.

Parents have enough to worry about when they send their kids back to school.
The last thing they need is the junk food industry influencing their
children to adopt a lifetime of poor eating habits.

Michele Simon is a public health lawyer and founder-director of the Center
for Informed Food Choices, a nonprofit based in Oakland, Calif.