Getting Fatter
“While the definition
of overweight or obesity differs by country and furthermore
across different UK bodies, the underlying theme is that obesity levels
for adults and children are worryingly high.
More than six in 10 adults (63%)
in the UK are overweight or obese, with
associated health problems costing the NHS an estimated £5bn annually.”
(Mintel,
2013)
It
is an unavoidable fact, we are getting fatter. Our love of processed, high fat,
high sugar convenience food and its direct effects have long been ‘swept under
the rug’ as we compare what we perceive to be ‘healthy attitudes’ in comparison
to our American counterparts. But Britain is now ranked the ‘fattest country’
in Europe (Laurance, J. 2012) and despite the Uk Governments attempts to combat
the problem with the threat of a ‘fat tax’, awareness campaigns such as the ‘Change4life’
programme and an increased focus on school meals and education via Jamie
Oliver, obesity levels are still on the rise. This has led to much confusion;
what is it exactly that we are doing wrong? An interview with nutritionist Kay
Clarke highlighted some key issues; mainly that consumers have been confronted
with contradictory advice. She stated;
“It’s not completely the fault of the media; but they
do send out some very mixed messages about what you should and shouldn’t be
eating. I think it is very confusing for people, especially with all the diets
that come out. Some are high in fat and some are high in sugar so it’s all a
mixed message.” (Clarke,
K. 2014)
Our
relationship with saturated fats is a complicated one. Though most people know
eating too much is bad for you; causing a number of health risks including
diabetes, sales of takeaway and fast food have soared. Online Takeaway company
Just Eat reported profits of £9 million in 2012 (Williams-Grut, O. 2013) and
despite the catastrophic horsemeat scandal in 2013, sales of ready meals in
supermarkets grew by 8% in 2013 (Stones, M. 2014).
Fatty
foods have long seen a correlation with consumers of a low income; however the proposed
‘fat tax’ will increase the cost of such products in a bid to combat our fat
addiction. The threat of this has seen manufacturers hastily expand their
product ranges to include low fat substitutes with a ‘healthy eating’
perspective. In order to appeal to growing consumer concerns enhanced by the
media and the government; Tesco promised to remove 32 tonnes of fat out of its
products in 2013 (Boseley, S. 2013) whilst brands such as Activia continue to
strongly emphasise their “only 3% fat” message across media platforms.
These messages of
advice and warning are undoubtedly helping to push consumers to make more informed
choices, and adopt a more health conscious lifestyle in order to tackle the
growing obesity rates and other related illnesses.
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excluding references and quotes
Dangerous Sugar
“Fat is not a big
deal, but sugar is a really big deal so this whole fat free trend at the moment
is rubbish and is just for marketing but what we will be looking at is trying
to get something that has no sugar in it. You are going to see more and more in
the media about sugar being bad, it really is a big issue that we need to face.”
(Dr Morgaine Gaye. 2014)
In the US, sugar for years has been seen as the ‘demon’
in food. Americans know their high sugar diet for them and as a result, the US
has seen a significant growth in the number of brands offering ‘low sugar’
alternatives; even chocolatiers Hershey’s offer a wide range of low sugar candy
now. A recent survey by IFIC showed “50%
of American consumers were influenced by such ‘benefits” (Daniells, S.
2012), whilst UK consumers are only just beginning to get over their obsession
with calorie counting. “With the rising
prominence of the health benefits associated with the Mediterranean diet and many
scientific studies highlighting the benefits of polyunsaturated and unsaturated
fats, attention is turning away from fats” (GMID, 2012).
The sugar vs fat debate is one that has been
battled for years and has proved to be a common source of consumer confusion. “Which is worse?” And “Which should I cut out of my diet?”
are questions commonly asked by consumers online as each week the magazines and
blogs they read dictate a different diet to them. BBC Show Horizon recently
uncovered the topic, documenting twin brother doctors as they embark on a high
sugar, low fat diet and a high fat, low sugar diet to finally put the argument
to rest. However, the end results were complicated as neither diet showed
weight gain or loss and each led to the threat of serious health risks such as
memory loss and diabetes. However, the most significant finding was the effects
of a 50/50 combination of high sugar and high fat, a mix found in some of the
UK’s most popular food choices e.g. the glazed donut (Horizon, 2014). This
information poses a major threat to the current UK food industry; particularly
the snacking, confectionary and convenience food sectors of whose products are
based on such ingredient combinations. The “Sugar and Gum Confectionary report”
by Mintel concluded; as consumers become more aware of the dangers in eating
such products, they are looking to replace them with what they perceive to be
healthier alternatives (Mintel, 2013). This concept is argued to have
encouraged sales of gluten free products as highlighted by the BBC’s The One
Show who spoke to new gluten free consumers about their choices. Interestingly,
the most popular reason for this change in diet was because it was “healthy”
and “better for you”, however the interviewer later pointed out that gluten
free bread on average contains 3 times as much sugar and fat in it than normal
bread much to the surprise of the consumers (The One Show, 2014). There seems
to be a complete disconnect with the UK consumers perception of healthy and
their decisions; if consumers know fat and sugar are bad why are they buying
products that contain more of both? Author of “Bad Food Britain” Blythman, J
argues;
“Food manufacturers are quite happy to put
nutritional labels on products in the full knowledge that most people will not
read them, while the few who do will be puzzled about what they mean” (Blythman,
J. 2006 p.252).
Word Count:
393 excluding quotes and references
Getting
Sicker
“The
number of people who believe they have a food allergy or intolerance has risen
dramatically in the past few years, experts say, with up to 20% of the
population now believing they are affected in some way - but how many really
have a medical condition?” (Dillon, S on BBC Radio 4’s
Food Programme, 2012).
Recent studies across the UK have shown an
increase in the number of people with food intolerances or illnesses such as Coeliac
disease, costing the NHS a staggering £27 million each year to fund free-from subsidiaries
and prescriptions (The Daily Mail, 2013). This had unsurprisingly served as a
boost for the free-from market as consumers bid to improve their general
wellbeing and remove common allergen ingredients such as gluten and dairy. However,
these numbers have seen a steep incline over a very short period of time; people
who have lived 40 years eating bread for breakfast, lunch and dinner but have
suddenly decided to give it all up, why? In my interview with her; food futurologist
Dr Morgaine Gaye was adamant that the exposure of dangerous toxins passed down
through generations was to blame for a sickly population.
“Toxicity’s like nickel and mercury are
becoming more prevalent in our bodies. For example; my mother smoke during her pregnancy
and my father had metal teeth and these toxins have been passed down to me.. making
us more sensitive and thus reactionary”(Gaye, M. 2014).
Moreover, Gaye later pointed out that these
sensitivities are further highlighted as we are eating more and more of the
same food group each day, she described as what starts with toast in the
morning continues with a sandwich and a muffin at lunch and pasta for dinner;
and with that comes an exposure to high levels of gluten, levels which our
bodies are not programmed to deal with.
Other contributing factors were argued by
nutritionist Kay Clarke. In her interview she concluded sugar was to blame;
“Candida, caused by sugar, saps the immune
system and as a result we become more intolerant to things. People’s immune
systems are not working properly. I think we are getting sicker and I think
that’s because our diet is so bad that our immune systems can’t react properly
(Clarke, K, 2014).
The internet and as a subsequence the unlimited
information we have access to has doubtless encouraged more people to adopt
free-from lifestyles as they increasingly self-diagnose. What would once have
been a long, tedious process of tests and doctor's appointments is now an
online filter system of ailments with one succinct answer at the end. Furthermore,
cutting out certain foods has never been easier as the majority of supermarkets
in the UK stock a reasonable range of products. Consumers are no longer
discouraged by hard to source ingredients and little choice.
Word Count:
312 excluding quotes and references
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