Philip Bowring: Rich diets, poor health are a global killer
 
Philip Bowring IHT
Monday, March 3, 2003
GENEVA Obsession with the forces of evil, be they Al Qaeda or Saddam Hussein's real or imagined weapons of mass destruction, is blinding us to much bigger, if morally neutral, global killers.
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A report published Monday by the World Health Organization and the Food and Agriculture Organization makes it starkly clear that the biggest threats abroad in the world are not AIDS or malaria, starvation or even automobiles and smoking, let alone terrorists. They are to be found in what we eat every day.
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The report by the two UN agencies posits a gigantic public health challenge to governments, with huge implications for the food industry worldwide.
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The legal harassment of McDonalds in the United States by tort lawyers placing blame for obesity and its consequences on food providers rather than the overeater, may prove a rather minor issue compared with the shake-up being demanded in global eating habits. The United States may have a particularly acute weight problem, but other countries are catching up, or have other eating-related problems.
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The bottom line of the problem is that "people are consuming a more energy-dense, nutrient-poor diet and are less physically active." Nor is this primarily a problem of the rich. Chronic diseases caused by bad diet and overweight conditions are increasing more rapidly in developing countries. That is particularly so with middle-income countries where lifestyles have changed with urbanization. But, as illustrated by a dramatic increase in diabetes, it is also affecting countries such as India, China and Indonesia - particularly urban residents.
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Most noncommunicable diseases are connected to eating and lifestyle issues. Too much fat - especially animal fat - too much salt and too much sugar are the three main killers. The more familiar evils, tobacco and alcohol, complete the list of major positive causes of most cardiovascular diseases, cancers and diabetes. Lack of exercise is the other dimension. Diet comes after tobacco as the largest cause of cancer, and is the major contributor to cardiovascular and diabetic diseases.
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Of course, doctors have been telling us these things for years. The U.S. Surgeon General has issued warnings about the cost of overweight and obese conditions. But the report gives new evidence of the sheer scale of the global problem - and if governments take its warnings to heart, the impact on the food industry will be dramatic.
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It is not just a case of richer diets and sedentary urban lifestyles taking their toll. The developed world has long been urbanized and prone to inadequate exercise. What seems to be newer is the impact, in the developing world as well as in rich countries, of increased eating based around sugary sodas and sweets, fat-rich fast food and snack food, and salt-rich canned and prepared foods - and combinations of all three.
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Meanwhile the industrialization of eating habits has led to reduced consumption of fresh vegetables and unrefined grains. The report contains updated recommendations on nutrient intake and activity goals - mainly reduced intake of energy-dense foods, more fruit and vegetables and 60 minutes a day of physical activity.
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The agencies do not cross swords with the food industry directly. It may need their cooperation to change things. But at least one alert stock analyst has noted the huge potential impact on food companies if governments or populations get serious about addressing these issues. UBS Warburg Global Equity Research recently devoted a report to the risks to major food companies posed by the sort of legal and governmental campaigns that previously hit the tobacco industry.
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The report looks at globally invested companies such as Coca Cola, McDonalds, Cadbury Schweppes, Unilever, Nestle and Procter Gamble in terms of their relative vulnerability to campaigns against "unhealthy" foodstuffs, whether such campaigns result in lower consumption, restrictions on advertising or - less likely - the sort of damage claims that have crippled former asbestos producers and badly dented the share prices of the tobacco companies.
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Let us face facts: We should all be more worried about our lifestyles than about Al Qaeda. Buy more duct tape if you must, but first buy the broccoli and not the cheeseburger.

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