"U.S. Wants You--Not WHO--To Fight The Fat"

Dan Ackman, 01.21.04, 9:48 AM ET

http://www.forbes.com/2004/01/21/cx_da_0121topnews.html

NEW YORK - The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has been trying to help Americans fight fat for years by cracking down on deceptive diet ads. The United Kingdom has floated a plan to restrict the advertising of fatty foods. What some call an epidemic of obesity in the U.S. has drawn the attention of Coca-Cola, McDonalds, Kraft Foods and others, and has given rise to an industry devoted to the Atkins diet. None of it has worked.

Now the World Health Organization wants to weigh in on the issue, but the Bush Administration is reportedly sitting on the United Nations agency's report which calls on individuals to modify their diets, but also wants governments to use taxes and subsidies to urge them to do so, and suggests restrictions on advertising of certain foods.

While the U.S., with 65% of adults overweight, is the world leader in fat people, the WHO says the obesity problem is global. In 1995, there were an estimated 200 million obese adults worldwide. By 2000, that number had increased to over 300 million, according to the WHO Web site. "Contrary to conventional wisdom, the obesity epidemic is not restricted to industrialized societies; in developing countries, it is estimated that over 115 million people suffer from obesity-related problems," the WHO says.

The WHO "Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health" says that chronic diseases like cardiovascular conditions, diabetes, stroke, cancers and respiratory diseases account for 59% of the 56.5 million disease-related deaths annually, and much of the global disease burden is tied to diet.

It's a big problem--and growing--but the question is what to do about it, especially since obesity is in large part a byproduct of cheaper food, more cars, greater urban sprawl, more TV and videogames, and less manual labor--all world trends that go well beyond diet plans. In recent years, there have been lawsuits in the U.S. against McDonald's (nyse: MCD - news - people ), which have been candy for late-night comedians, but which have gotten nowhere in court. The FTC has tried and tried again to restrict advertising of "deceptive" diet products, but there is a case to be made that all diets are deceptive in that they tend not to work for long.

Now with the debate having taken a global turn, the Bush Administration has argued that there is no valid evidence for some of the WHO recommendations, such as the idea of restricting ads geared to children, who, like their parents are getting fatter. The administration also wants the document to emphasize the role of personal responsibility in controlling weight. Sugar-producing nations have backed the U.S. view.

Critics say that the U.S. has let food-industry lobbyists put their thumb on the scale. The industry is said to fear the recommendations of the report even though it would not lead to a binding treaty or any new legal obligations. "It's ironic that the U.S. is the country that invented fast food, Coca-Cola and Twinkies and is now telling the rest of the world how to combat obesity," Bruce Silverglade, legal director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, told USA Today.

But William Steiger, head of the U.S. delegation, said his concern is with the science underlying the report and said it put too much of the burden for diet reform on states and not enough on individuals. "Government-imposed solutions are not always appropriate," Steiger said. "People need to be empowered to take responsibility for their health." The U.S. delegation specifically questions whether the heavy marketing of high-calorie foods and advertising junk food on children's television, which is nothing new, contributes to obesity.

"This is all about how do we motivate people, how do we change attitudes and how do we change behavior. If this strategy is not relevant to individuals, nothing's going to happen," Steiger told the WHO board.

If the WHO strategy is relevant to individuals, though, experience suggests nothing's going to happen anyway.

My philosophy is that I don't want the government in my bedroom or my kitchen telling me what to do.

To say NO to FAT

Link to Pravda Article

According to The Australian the US earned the wrath of health experts and foreign governments yesterday for opposing a World Health Organisation plan to fight global obesity by targeting junk food and soft drinks.

Bush administration officials told WHO's executive board in Geneva that diet was a matter for individual responsibility. There was no firm scientific evidence that sugar and high-calorie processed food was the main cause of obesity, they said.

The objections of the US, where two-thirds of the population is overweight and 30 per cent of adults are obese, forced WHO to delay the release of the report to consider changes. Health experts, including Kaare Norum, a Norwegian who heads the WHO advisory panel on obesity, accused Washington of acting in the interests of the food and sugar industries, significant donors to the Republican party. The US opposition, spelled out in a letter to WHO by US Health Department official William Steiger, took the UN agency by surprise.

"The assertion that heavy marketing of energy-dense foods or fast food outlets increases the risk of obesity is supported by almost no data," Mr Steiger said.

Countering a proposal to restrict advertising, he added: "No data have yet clearly demonstrated that the advertising on children's television causes obesity."

The draft WHO plan, Global Strategy on Diet, Physical, Activity and Health, calls on governments to promote exercise and discourage the consumption of fat, sugary food through education, pricing and restrictions on advertising.

But Mt Steiger said: "Government-imposed solutions are not always appropriate. People need to be empowered to take responsibility for their health."

According to WHO, 1 billion adults worldwide are overweight and at least 300 million are obese.

Poor diet and lack of exercise contribute to heart disease, diabetes and cancers which account for 60 per cent of the 56.5 million preventable deaths each year.

Canada.com informs to Governments gave cautious backing Tuesday to a United Nations plan to promote healthier lifestyles, part of a global effort to reduce obesity and help battle heart disease and diabetes.

Countries, including the United States - seen by campaigners as a holdout - said they approved broadly of the World Health Organization's draft Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health.

"We need a strategy to take us out of the comfort zone, because more of the same is clearly not an option," New Zealand delegate Gillian Durham told Tuesday's three-hour meeting.

The 18-page document, presented at a meeting of the 32-country WHO executive board, aims to guide international efforts to fight illnesses related to bad diet and lack of exercise.

The Bush administration has faced criticism for allegedly kowtowing to the food industry and trying to dilute the document, which includes pushing industry to make deeper cuts in sugar and fat in food and changes to advertising and tax policy to promote healthier diets.

Some 300 million people worldwide are obese and 750 million more are overweight, including 22 million children under age five, according to the International Obesity Task Force. Once largely a problem of industrialized countries, obesity now is hitting developing countries too.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has been trying to help Americans fight fat for years by cracking down on deceptive diet ads. The United Kingdom has floated a plan to restrict the advertising of fatty foods. What some call an epidemic of obesity in the U.S. has drawn the attention of Coca-Cola, McDonalds, Kraft Foods and others, and has given rise to an industry devoted to the Atkins diet. None of it has worked.

Now the World Health Organization wants to weigh in on the issue, but the Bush Administration is reportedly sitting on the United Nations agency's report which calls on individuals to modify their diets, but also wants governments to use taxes and subsidies to urge them to do so, and suggests restrictions on advertising of certain foods.

While the U.S., with 65% of adults overweight, is the world leader in fat people, the WHO says the obesity problem is global. In 1995, there were an estimated 200 million obese adults worldwide. By 2000, that number had increased to over 300 million, according to the WHO Web site. "Contrary to conventional wisdom, the obesity epidemic is not restricted to industrialized societies; in developing countries, it is estimated that over 115 million people suffer from obesity-related problems," the WHO says - reports FORBES

I am conflicted on this. On the one hand, I don't disagree with taxes and advertising bans on products that cost everyone -- sin taxes on tobacco and alcohol make sense, as those product cost society as a whole.

However, governments are still tied to low fat dogma. I don't want to see a sin tax on beef, but not Snackwell cookies.

This is key to any diet.

I don't watch TV very often any more so I'm not sure what sort of advertisements are being aired, but I'm sure if they're anything like they used to be people will continue to crave that which they should not. TV used to be one of the worst eating times for me because all those little ads would convince me somehow I was hungry when I really wasn't.


I appreciate that statement. Diet (and I don't mean weight loss plan) is something that needs to be decided by the individual.


That, on the other hand, really sounds like a load of bunk. Although, in their defense, sugar and high-calorie processed food alone does not cause obesity. It's the uncontrolled consumption of such foods, partnered with lack of exercise, that causes obesity in most cases.