Daniel Lubetzky

For those denying that America is being enveloped by an obesity epidemic whose repercussions we cannot begin to fathom, as if data about how 1 in 3 children born this year will be diabetic and 32% of children are overweight, new data shows that adult obesity rates increased in 37 US States across the US over the past year.  "The rate of adult obesity now exceeds 25% in 28 states" compared to a national average of 15% back in 1980.  1980 is when obesity started growing at such steep pace, and it is no coincidence that 1980 is also the year when high fructose corn syrup was introduced.

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A recent study with pregnant female rats indicated that the pups of those rats who were offered junk food ended up opting for junk food at far higher rates than the pups of moms that were under a regular chow regime. 

…pups whose mothers ate junk food while pregnant and lactating had a greater taste for food high in fat and sugar than those whose mothers did not. The junk-food pups ate more calories and were more prone to gaining weight.

And:

For most of our evolutionary past, the problem has been avoiding starvation. An environment awash with sugars and fats is, therefore, an evolutionary novelty: in hundreds of millions of years of evolution, this is the first time such foods have been abundant. Giant quantities of fats and sugars have not, historically, been available to a developing fetus, so it wouldn’t be surprising if they do have a harmful impact.

If this is right, it raises the alarming possibility that the obesity epidemic has a built-in snowball effect. If children born to obese mothers are, owing to the environment in the womb, predisposed to obesity, they may find staying thin especially hard. Reversing the epidemic may thus rest on helping women to lose weight before they conceive and helping them to eat a balanced, non-junk-food diet while they are pregnant. The well-being of the next generation may depend on it.

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A new site just launched that analyzes food product labels for ingredients that may or may not be good for you.  Too many items pose as "healthy" while containing ingredients like high fructose corn syrup which labelwatch exposes here as not healthful.

The site is not perfect yet; it’s search engine is clunky; and it still is missing KIND Fruit & Nut bars, which are the #1 Healthy Snack bar line (in terms of market share growth of entire space over each of the last 3 years, and #3 in overall size already in natural industry, according to SPINS, IRI and Nielsen).  But it is a good start.

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And the corollary to the earlier post is that obesity in children has reached epidemic proportions, causing Type 2 diabetes and many other health complications that stay with them beyond childhood for the rest of their lives.

There are other key health challenges to children, that the food industry needs to tackle…

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A report last week from the Federal Trade Commission found that the makers of soda, fast food, cereals and other products spent $1.6 billion in 2006 on marketing aimed at children and teenagers.

…While almost $500 million a year is spent on soda advertising, only $11 million is spent on ads for fruit and vegetables.

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I’ve always admired Coke’s marketing. And, like most big companies, it has been careful to be genuine when making specific claims.  Yes, it is lifestyle-centered and romantic, so it gets carried away – but that is what has made it such a majestic brand.  And you don’t normally have big companies make ridiculous claims they can’t stand by.  They are too smart for that.  Alas, Coke has now come out with the preposterous claim that its formula has "no artificial ingredients."

Say that again? The drink is a definition of artificial.  Tasty.  But artificial.  Without getting into whatever secret ingredients that are over-processed by definition, and without getting into carbonation, you need to go no further than one of its core ingredients: High fructose corn syrup (HFCS).  HFCS is a definition of a man-made chemically-created compound – no matter what lobbyist may try to dupe is into confusing us and harming our health – to the point that HFCS doesn’t even get absorbed by the liver and bypasses it, forming fat directly, and contributing to obesity.

It is embarrassing that an institution like Coca-Cola would be part of an effort to destroy the meaning of "all natural."  And to contribute to America’s obesity and diabetes epidemics through misinformation.

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I like these quotes from our very own Phil Walotsky on this week’s issue of Food Business News:

"Healthy snacking is very hot," said Phil Walotsky, spokesperson for KIND Fruit + Nut bars, PeaceWorks Holdings, New York. "Where we see a great deal of our growth is adoption by casual consumers who look for a healthy option with emphasis on taste and natural ingredients. We’re finding that nutrition bars are being used less as an activity-specific food — for example, something you only eat after a workout — and more people are adding them as a staple of their diet."

And:

"We also believe consumers will continue to become more educated about the food they purchase, and will reward companies that produce healthy snacks that reflect their more discerning desires, tastes and values," Mr. Walotsky said. "Consumers will continue to look for products that are less processed and foods that don’t contain suspect ingredients like high-fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated oils, and instead turn to foods with integrity that taste great and provide real nutritional value."

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Over the last few weeks, the High Fructose Corn Syrup Lobby has begun a spin campaign to try to confuse consumers into thinking that HFCS is no different from other natural sugars, but studies including one from the University of Texas last week (and one from University of Florida three years ago) have confirmed that fructose causes fat build-up at unusually high levels and with unusually damaging consequences.

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Consumers are increasingly demanding that manufacturers replace high fructose corn syrup with natural alternatives, such as cane sugar, agave syrup, or as in the case with KIND, honey and glucose.  Research has confirmed that High Fructose Corn Syrup is more fattening than other sugars like sucrose and glucose.  And high fructose corn syrup is cheap and concentrated, but hits the blood stream faster and is at least a partial culprit for the obesity and diabetes epidemics taking over.

In spite of the Corn Industry Lobby and their efforts to confuse consumers, after decades of manipulating Americans into higher consumption, including by lobbying to impose tariffs on imports (such as healthier alternatives like raw cane sugar) that compete with HFCS, people are wising up.

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A study from Cornell University demonstrates a correlation between junk/unhealthful food and energy costs.  Artificial stuff, junk food and red meat all require more energy and natural resources to produce than fruits, nuts, veggies, etc.  So by eating real foods, you are not just helping your health – you are also helping reduce greenhouse emissions.

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