22 Oct 2006 - Globesity - Read or watch the story

Today's Channel 9 Sunday program, featured a cover story about obesity and what to do about it. Check it out for what the experts say we need to do to help our nation get into shape. You'll see Professpr Phillip James from the International Obesity Taskforce, The Hon Tony Abbott and also my comments.

The Story | Read Transcript | Watch Video

12 Oct 2006 - Meeting Jamie Oliver… sharing the passion

Passion for great food is contagious, especially when you are standing next to Jamie Oliver. That's just what I got to do last month at his live show in Sydney.

Just before I get to my point, a paragraph of gloating… Annie and I got picked from the audience to compete with another couple in a salad-making competition. We won and got a bundle of his books, one of which he stuffed down the back of my pants because my arms were full of Teffal prizes.

My favourite part of the show was standing next to Jamie while he talked about the ingredients in his Fifteen salad for three whole minutes. You might think the guy is passionate about food on the TV, but get up close and personal and it's compellingly contagious.

I left feeling that getting people to eat healthy, quality food requires more passion… simple as that. Get excited, show your enthusiasm, put on a show and share your passion.

14 Oct 2006 - McDonalds: More healthy food or just more food?

How do you think people will respond to McDonald's new healthier menu? Will they switch from burgers and fries to salads and wraps or simply eat the salads on top of the less nutritious items?

I asked this question in last month's Matt's Snacks, and today's Sydney Morning Herald article (14-15 October) by New York correspondent Andrew Clark provides some of the answer.

Clark wrote, “Three years ago, McDonald's was widely written off as a has-been fuelled an obesity epidemic by serving up outdated helpings of greasy food.” Now he notes, “Its revival represents a stunning marketing turnaround.”

Darren Tristano is an analyst at Chicago-based food consultancy Technomic, quoted in the article, “Salads eliminate the veto vote. If you're in a party of people where one person wants to stay healthy, the new menu allows that person to get what they're looking for, and stops the entire group going somewhere else.”

And…

“They're really pushing snacking to create off-peak meal occasions. They've come out with late-night deals to create what we call a fourth meal between dinner and breakfast.”

So on one hand McDonald's is doing a good thing by offering healthier, lower-calorie choices like salads. On the other hand, more of the population may find themselves inside McDonald's more often, being tempted every time with calories that will cancel out the salad savings.

One example of this is a “Snacks for Later” counter display and shelves in one McDonald's I saw in July. Does it make sense to be encouraging customers to be buy salads or wraps at the same time as suggesting at the point of sale, they take home a packet of chocolate biscuits?

Apparently that display I saw was a trial and may not stay anyway, according to Peter Bush, McDonald's Australia CEO when I quizzed him on whether McDonald's should have this approach to snacking.

To its credit McDonald's is making some potentially powerfully healthy changes to its menu. But a totally healthy restaurant experience may be a long way off, as explained in the Clark article by Tim Lang, Professor of Food Policy at City University, London, “This is a downmarket, fast service, low-price chain based on pulpy, fatty food. They can't suddenly become upmarket, haute cuisine delivering organic food - much as we'd like them to.”

The roll out of Pasta Zoo, McDonald's new healthier Happy Meal appears to have been delayed in Australia, so I'll update you when it hits the kids.

25 October 2006 -- Food labels: Do you want lots of numbers or a simple logo to guide your choices?

Check out the top, front of cereal box on the right from Kellogg's Sultana Bran. It's too small to read the nutrition labeling in the piccy I know. But at life size I'm also unsure how many people will be able read and understand it.

The nutrition labelling is a new voluntary initiative of Kellogg's to show consumers what percentage of energy, protein and other nutrients a serve of their cereals contributes to the daily recommended intake. For example, in the blue section it shows that a serve of Sultana Bran provides 639kJ or 7.3% of daily intake (%DI).

According to Jo Thomas, Public Affairs Director for the Australian Food and Grocery Council (AFGC),
the organization that represents the nation's food, beverage and grocery products manufacturers, consumer research indicated that people were positive about percentages because they are used to them, for example in the case of home loan interest rates (19 Oct 2006).

The %DI approach to front of pack nutrition labeling appears to be part of the food industry's response to threats of banning junk food advertisements aimed at children. The AFGC is looking to develop a consistent industry approach to display at least the %DI information for energy (kJ).

The big question in any food labeling debate is will the food industry's labelling scheme work for consumers? That is, will they be able to read the information, understand it and act on it to improve their diet.

I've got some concerns:

• The blue and lime colours on the Sultana Bran pack are hard to read, especially white text on light blue background. For a simple logo it would work, but not for a dozen nutrients on this cereal box.
  
  
• There are 12 different percentages shown across the label. Some people do find percentages hard to interpret.
  
  
• There is just too much information on this cereal packet. In the face of information overload, I'm guessing consumers will give up, remain confused and keep on eating what they've been eating.

And it seems calls have been heard by Australian Health Ministers, who are the decision makers when it comes to what's required on food labels. Today, the Australia and New Zealand Food Regulation Ministerial Council, agreed “… to ask the Food Regulation Standing Committee to explore and report to the Council at its next meeting whether a uniform front-of-pack labeling system would be an effective health strategy, and to advise on the efficacy on a range of options for such a labeling system, which may include the traffic light labeling system, the behavioural system and any other options.” Read the Media Release

Watch this space, as there will now be some heavy argy bargy between health experts and the food industry to come up with the best scheme. Hopefully, the outcome will be positive for consumers… something simple, something that works!

26 October 2006 - Now that's a treadmill… sorry TreadClimber!

It's not often I rave about a piece of exercise equipment, but I will right now. Last month at the Leisure Industry Week Expo in the UK I met US fitness guru Jay Blahnik, who is an Advisory Board Member for the Naultilus Institute. Nautilus' new fitness machine is the TreadClimber , which has a tagline, “Walking. The New Running.”

You can check it out here and watch a video, but it is basically two treadmill belts on the same machine that go up and down alternatively as you walk. The effect is greater calorie burning from the natural climbing action, without an increase in perceived exertion.

Walkers, ex-runners and people who want a workout without the discomfort of heavy effort will get a fantastic workout. At first, it's weird to walk on it, but then the machine's action seems to keep you more stable than you would be on a conventional treadmill set at a steep incline.

Anyway, I'll stop banging on and just say that at last a breakthrough with a truly useful, common sense exercise machine. With Jay Blahnik, one of the fitness industries great educators and inspirers on board, Nautilus are on a winner.

Note: I have no commercial relationship with Nautilus, but if they would like to send me a complimentary TreadClimber I'd love it!

26 October 2006 - Great ideas for healthy kid's snacks

Also at the UK Leisure Industry Week Expo last month, some innovative new kids' snack foods: Apple Snaps Crunchy Apple Crisps & Beetroot Crisps (I love beetroot!), Goodies Organic Carrot Sticks, with a No Junk Promise on the label, Fruit Squad Yummy Sultanas, Raisons and Apricots, and You are What You Eat, Nothing But Nuts, Fruit & Seeds

All these are available in a vending machine at a workplace or school near you from the Healthy Snack Company. There was also the Funky Snack Company. What great food ideas can you come up with and what new, fun name can you give your business or idea?

26 October 2006 - Chocolate body wash… You've got to be joking!

Nature's Organics Spa Chocolate Truffle Shower Milk. Just read it again...! Yes, what is that all about? I found this product several months ago, lost it on my shelves but just found it to share with you.

Will it cure a chocolate craving? Does it contain calories that will be absorbed through the skin? It smells like chocolate, tastes a bit like chocolate (not recommended), but it's a body wash. Chocoholics, make up your own mind on this one.

Related to this though is something disturbing. The current trend to put fruit into soaps and cosmetics. From what I know about food and anatomy, you need to eat fruit to get it's nutritional benefits. One Garnier Fructis shampoo contains “active fruit concentrate” and a conditioner contains “nutritive fruit micro-oils.”

Now it seems you don't need to eat fruit because you can get it in the shower!?

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