Weekly Wellness News

May 29, 2006

Feature: Billion-Dollar Abs

How much are your abs worth? If you look at how much the average fast-food chain or snack food company spends on advertising, you know the answer.

Your appetite is worth a fortune.

Bad food is everywhere. We're surrounded by it. We have insane numbers of snack foods thrown at us next to every single check-out counter in the country (with the possible exception of some yoga studios). Now there are plans to have delivery of chips and drinks to cars while you pump your gas. That's right, you place the order at the pump, and the clerk brings out your 'food' to you.

Not only is it easier to get junk food than healthy food, it's cheaper too. For less than the price of a head of lettuce, you can get a small chips and a can of soda. Even though it's so cheap, we still spend more on fast-food than we do on higher education.

Then there is the trend in restaurants to make serving sizes larger. Some restaurant chains use large serving sizes as their marketing hook. Value meals are already higher in calories, fat, sodium, and sugar than the average person should have in a meal; on top of that they give the option to upsize every meal for almost no extra money.

The successful fast-food chains make billions of dollars every year. Spending a billion on advertising is just good business sense.

As long as you'll keep eating, marketers will try to sell you every edible substance they can think of.

References:

• Fast-food culture serves up super-size Americans [apa.org]
• Fast-Food Nation: The True Cost Of America's Diet [mcspotlight.org]
• Food For Thought - A Chat with Eric Schlosser [forbes.com]

Other  news

• You mean french-fries are bad for healthy people, too? More reasons to cut back on saturated fats [msnbc.com].
• Some drugs might be bad for you. ADHD drugs send thousands to the ER [msnbc.com].
• Some drugs might be good for you. Hearty drinkers have healthy hearts [webmd.com].

From the editor

We spend over twenty billion dollars a year at McDonald's, so it's no wonder they're willing to spend a billion a year on advertising. Likewise with other food companies. Customers are worth it.

Especially worth it: children. Children are more susceptible to subliminal and indirect marketing, and a customer from childhood is likely to be a customer for years and years. The habits form easier and root deeper.

So what do we do?

Attacking the industry is not the solution. Lawsuits might bring change, but not all change is created equal. Simply eradicating the industry would have many negative effects. The fast-food industry does actually employ millions and fulfill some needs within our always-on-the-go culture. Sometimes access to a quick meal is valuable. Sometimes a trip to the local burger joint can be a nice change of pace. I want these choices available to me.

Rather than a crusade, let's be part of a positive movement. How?

The solution requires education. Know what is good for you, what is bad for you, and what specific foods you will and will not allow yourself to eat (and it what quantities). Learn so that you can understand the implications of your eating habits and change the ones you need to. Make sure your kids see you eating the way you would want them to. Help them understand the results of eating poorly, and lead them to begin their own studies of the body, as a machine, and its needs.

The solution requires voicing your wants and needs. Restaurants respond to customer demands. Take for instance the healthy choices McDonalds has started adding to their menu. Now you can get salads, granola, and a variety of other healthy foods at many McDonalds worldwide. Other chains are incorporating similar programs as the combined consumer voice grows.

The solution requires personal responsibility. At the end of the day, no-one is forcing a Texas BBQ Bacon Double Cheeseburger, a half-pound of fries, and a two quart cola down your throat against your will. If you choose to eat something, you have made that choice. Make your decisions wisely and let others make theirs. That is the greatest example you can set for the world: choosing wisely from a plethora of options.

Change is happening, but it's a slow process. There are now healthy menus available at many fast-food chains. Restaurants are publishing information about their selections. You can make decisions about what you eat based on an ever-growing body of information.

Make your decisions wisely. Change starts with you.

Healthy thoughts,
Jeff

PS - Hope you are having a great Memorial Day weekend!

Copyright 2006, Jeffrey Eliasen. Do not forward or reprint without express permission from the author.