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07.12.2006

“HartBeat” is The Hartman Group's FREE online newsletter, providing insight, analysis, information and strategy to give business leaders the knowledge and vision to build sustainable brands.

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For more Hartman Group articles on OBESITY, click here...

03.08.2006 "Satiety: 'Satisfying' the Hunger for a New Food Trend?"

03.10.2005 "The Balance Trap"

10.26.2004 "What If It's Not About the Food After All"

08.19.2004 "7 Myths of Obesity in America"

08.05.2004 "Snacking Our Way Through the Day: Food Culture in America"

06.17.2004 "Addressing the Problem of Obesity"

02.11.2004 "Don't Tell Me I'm Obese, I'm Just Big-Boned"

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Understanding The Obesity Crisis

- 8th grader

"You see the fat kids and you see their parents. Their shopping carts are loaded up with chips and sodas, juice boxes and Entenmann's. And it's no wonder the kids are fat. Those parents must not know what a disservice they are doing to their kids. It's not just setting them up for all the diseases later in life, it is also stigmatizing them socially."

- Parent

As analysts and consultants in the health, wellness and food arenas, we are continually puzzled - and more than a bit frustrated - by our collective response to the obesity issue. While we stand united in our belief that obesity is a serious problem in American society, especially among our youth, our common responses often leave much to be desired: It seems to always be someone else's problem.

Reviewing the discourse surrounding the obesity debates, we find most proposed "solutions," can typically be placed into one of three common buckets - blame, teach or tinker. We blame the overweight person for a lack of discipline or self-control, we set out to teach folks how to "eat better," or we suggest tinkering with or otherwise modifying our food supply.

The least common and, we believe least productive position, is to simply affix blame to someone or some organization. The finger of blame has been pointed squarely and sharply at the food industry for contributing to rising obesity rates in many Western countries. The industry in its own defense is quick to push the finger of blame towards the individual for his/her lack of self-regulation. While this perspective is a natural fit for a culture championing the ideals of self-discipline and self-control, we think most realize that the sudden spike in obesity rates - especially among children - can hardly be explained by something as vague as declining moral and character values. The blame game is a no-win for all involved.

If blame is a dead end, what about other proposed solutions? We find that most proposed solutions, such as those offered in a 3,500 word polemic New York Times op-ed by Eleanor Randolph, fit neatly into the "teach" and "tinker" buckets. For example:

TEACH		TINKER
Stop bombarding children with junk food ads		Ban the junk food in schools
Proselytize for healthy eating		Upgrade the school snack
Label food in chain restaurants		Tax the fatteners
Educate parents and teachers		Stop subsidizing junk food
Exercise for everybody		Start subsidizing healthy food for poor people

Strangely, we find that none of the 10 suggestions listed above begin to directly address the pink elephant hovering in the corner. The root problem, of course, is that we simply consume far, far too many calories for our own good.

Yes, you read that correctly: We eat way too much food.

But rather than tackle the problem head on, most in public policy circles appear satisfied to offer up suggestions of the teach and tinker variety, which only hint indirectly at our pathological tendency to over consume.

True, banning junk food sales in schools might help reduce the consumption of so-called empty calories. But if we replaced sodas and candy with juice, nuts and popcorn, our children are still consuming unnecessary calories, no? Might it make more sense to ask how and when it even became acceptable for children to snack in school?

And while exercise is a critical component of health and wellness, it doesn't correct for binge eating or constant grazing. If the pragmatic problem is that we eat far, far too much, the more tragic problem is that as a society we appear remarkably ill-equipped to confront the problem directly. Instead we're treated to vague platitudes like "learn to eat healthy," "get plenty of exercise," and "watch out for junk food." In truth, none of the solutions proposed above will ever prove effective if we continue to indulge at our current per capita level of around 2,700 calories a day.

And while we are respected admirers of efforts to educate Americans on the proper use of food labels, our research doesn't show any noticeable correlation between nutritional awareness, education and reducing one's waistline. What we find is a group of very well-read, informed consumers who continue to battle the bulge. In truth, when you consider that as a society we've been honing our information and labeling policies for the better part of 30 years, during which we've witnessed an alarming rise in obesity, wouldn't a reasonable person question whether tinkering with our package labels is really going to fix the situation. Honestly, do we really believe there is some magic formula that, once properly applied to food labels, is going to cause consumers to eat differently and lose weight in record numbers?

To read 7 suggestions as practical starting points for those interested in obesity reform, download our white paper: Understanding Obesity: Beyond Teaching, Tinkering & Blaming

I'm just gonna grab a little snack...

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