A Look at Our Diet Wednesday, January 19, 2005

What are your favorite foods?

USA

USA -- Sugar Food Caloric sweeteners – 115 lbs152 lbs Sucrose (sugar) – 101 lbs 66 lbs Corn sweeteners – 17 lbs 84 lbs

USA -- Beverages Beverages Milk31 gal24 gal Sodas24 gal52 gal Fruit Juice5.5 gal8.8 gal

Why?

Fast Food Restaurants

Hamburger Carl’s Jr. Western Bacon $6 Burger 2,180 calories 61 grams fat

French Fries Carl’s Jr. French Fries Large 820 Calories 29 Grams Fat

Soda Carl’s Jr. 32 oz Soda 310 Calories

Total Calories for One Meal Total = 3,310 or almost 1 lb body fat

What are the other habits? We consume twice as much soda today than we did 25 years ago. Cokes used to be 6.5 ounces/serving. Today they are 20 – 24 ounces/ serving Average caloric intake rose from 1826 calories/day to 2002 calories/ day or 7.8 pounds of extra body fat/year

…and we love to eat food! In 2002, more than 11,300 new food products were introduced in the US alone.

Marketing & Advertising The amount of money spent on marketing to children doubled during the 1990s -- $12 billion in 1998 They want your loyalty to their brand

Marketing & Advertising Highly sweetened cereals Cookies Candies Fast foods Sodas Mostly foods high in sugar, calories & fat

Marketing & Advertising Marketers study you, your behavior, what gets the dollar out of your pocket Children under 12 years of age spend $25 billion every year Teens spend $140 billion a year on foods and beverages

Marketing & Advertising Children watch between 20,000 and 40,000 commercials each year Food is the product advertised in more than half of all adds targeting children The heaviest food advertising is targeted to young children

Marketing & Advertising Obesity is highest among kids/teens who watch 4 or more hours of television a day Obesity is lowest among kids/teens who watch less than an hour a day 60% of overweight children 10 – 15 yo may be due to too much TV For many children, reducing TV reduces weight

Marketing & Advertising Food no longer just tastes good, it has to be fun

What is the Cost? 300 million people worldwide are obese & 750 million more are overweight In the United States 60% of adults are overweight or obese More than 15% of children & teens are overweight or obese

Brazil Consider: Brazil – 8% men & 13% women are obese – a 100% increase in 22 years

Mexico Mexico is now the second fattest nation In 1999, women - 35% overweight, 24% obese In 1999, 55% men - overweight & obese Mexicans drink more Coca Cola than milk

Spain Adults over 60 years old Men – overweight 49%, 31.4% obese Women – overweight 39.8%, 40.8% obese

The Cost – Heart Disease About 700,000 Americans will have a stroke this year Heart disease ranks the #2 cause of death for children/teens under 15 yo. This use to be related to birth defects but now it is high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, & metabolic syndrome

The Cost – Heart Disease 17 million people around the world die for heart disease The highest rates of heart disease are found in Argentina, Chile and Uruguay

The Cost - Diabetes 120 million people worldwide have Type 2 diabetes and by the year 2010 the number will increase to 230 million people Type 2 Diabetes use to be rare in children. Now it is becoming common among children and teenagers

The Cost - Obesity USA-1980/1994, UK , Australia-1980/1995, NZ-1989/1997, Canada

What Can We Do?

Make Different Choices Pay attention to labels Ask for the nutrient value at fast food restaurants Eat until you’re satisfied, not until you’re stuffed Replace some soda with water Have a piece of fruit instead of a candy bar or dessert

Make Different Choices Carl’s Jr Super Star Hamburger – 348 calories Small French fries calories Medium Soda – 260 calories Total calories

Make Healthy Choices Previous meal – 3,310 calories Present meal calories Total difference – 2,610 calories

Making Healthy Choices You make the difference It’s up to you!