August 2009 Archives

Following up on my posting earlier this week on functional foods consumer awareness and the teachable moment: A recent report from Pricewaterhouse Coopers includes several findings of interest to nutrition professionals.

·        The market for functional foods is expected to dramatically outpace the food industry as a whole - with as much as five times the growth.

·        The most popular products address a common ailment and offer a specific health benefit.

·        Products with an immediate, obvious effect - for example, energy boosters - are more successful (in the short run) than products with no immediate gratification.

·        The most popular products - and the up and comers - address energy, heart health, bone health, cognitive health, weight management and skin enhancement.

Read between the lines here and I think you see a blueprint for bridging that vexing gap between what people know about nutrition and how they behave: Be in the "now." Be specific. Be relevant.  As nutrition professionals, we may view consumer interest in the specific health benefits of certain foods as missing the big picture; instead, let's look at it as opening the door to the potential for a much broader conversation. Do you have any thoughts on this subject? Please share your ideas here!

The International Food Information Council's (IFIC) new Functional Foods/Foods for Health Consumer Trending Survey shows that 89% Americans agree that certain foods offer benefits beyond basic nutrition. This number is up significantly from IFIC's 2007 survey. This year's top five functional foods*, according to survey respondents, are:

·         Fruits and vegetables

·         Fish, fish oil, seafood

·         Dairy (including milk and yogurt)

·         Meat and poultry

·         Herbs/spices

* Foods that may provide a health benefit beyond basic nutrition

The survey also showed that consumers associate certain food components with specific health benefits, such as:

·         Calcium and vitamin D for bone health

·         Whole grains for reduced risk of heart disease

·         Antioxidants for protection against free radical damage 

·         Probiotics for digestive and immune health

·         Omega-3 fatty acids for cognitive development, especially in children

Not surprisingly, consumers are most aware of food­-health benefits related to their greatest personal health concerns, such as cardiovascular disease, weight maintenance and cancer, as well as those that have been promoted over time, such as calcium for bone health or fiber for digestive health.

Although consumers say they want to eat foods for these benefits, the data suggest they are not following through. In an August 12 Web cast hosted by IFIC, David Grotto, RD, author of 101 Foods That Could Save Your Life, suggested this is because consumers face distinct barriers against acting on what they know, namely: taste, convenience, accessibility, ease in preparation, familiarity and cost. I agree with David. Each one of these hurdles presents a challenge for registered dietitians, the food and beverage industry, and culinarians. To borrow a phrase: You can lead a consumer to healthy food, but you can't make him eat.

The IFIC survey has been widely quoted in the press, but I think it is worth pointing out here that survey findings underscore the importance of research on consumer food behavior. We need some groundbreaking, culture-shifting big ideas in this area. As nutrition communicators, what can we do to help move this effort forward? If you have some ideas or comments, please share them here.

The government released new obesity statistics late last month, just in time for Weight of the Nation, the Centers for Disease Control's (CDC) inaugural conference on obesity prevention and control. Here are just a few of the disturbing findings from that survey:

·         The average American carries an extra 23 pounds.

·         The nation, collectively, is about 4.6 billion pounds overweight.

·         Between 1998 and 2006, the number of obese Americans shot up 37%.

·         During the same period, the proportion of Americans with a body mass index of 30 or above rose from 1.3% to 25%.

·         This rise in obesity fueled a $40 billion annual rise in health care costs, an equivalent of $1,429 more per person per year.

·         Medications used to treat obesity-related conditions such as high blood pressure and diabetes accounted for most of the increased bill.

The federal state and local policymakers and public health officials, researchers and CDC partners who attended the July conference explored changes in government policy and social and cultural practice that could drive back the nation's obesity epidemic and drive down the associated health care tab. This examination focused on four intervention settings: community, medical care, school and workplace. CDC plans to synthesize lessons learned from the conference into a National Road Map for Obesity Prevention and Control, which will contain best practices and guidelines for integrated obesity prevention and control initiatives.

In the meantime, however, CDC has published Recommended Community Strategies and Measurements to Prevent Obesity in the United States. The report and accompanying implementation guide include 24 evidence-based environmental and policy-level strategies along with measures for gauging their effectiveness. I think this CDC report is required reading for registered dietitians.

What struck me when reviewing all the information from the conference is something I, and my registered dietitian colleagues, have always maintained: You have to go where the people are. And that is what the community report outlines - the framework of intervention encompassing medical, but also schools, the workplace and the community. We can't wait for people to come to us for help. We need to be in the community, weaving nutrition into the fabric of everyday life. This is the essence of health promotion and disease prevention.