Nevertheless, there are enormous profits to be had from obesity.
The foods that maximise profit just happen to be those high in sugar or fat. They are cheap to produce, easy to brand and market, and easy to stock in supermarket aisles. And there are numerous ways to encourage people who are pre-obese to buy these foods.
Sedentary behaviour is also profitable, and encouraged by industry. A moped is more glamorous than a bicycle. A new computer game will re-invigorate peoples' interest, but not their bodies.
To stem the spread of obesity, we must study the complex web of commercial interests and marketing strategies driving it. Pelotas is a South Brazilian city This city – where I contribute to epidemiological research on obesity – is also undergoing a marked nutritional transition. In Brazil, between 1973 and 1996, obesity increased from 2.4 to 6.9 per cent in men and from 7.0 to 12.5 per cent in women. In simple terms, obesity arises when people consume more energy than they expend, either by eating too much or exercising too little. It's undoubtedly true that economic and cultural transitions affect dietary intake and activity levels. What is really driving the obesity epidemic is not increased dietary intake, or decreased activity levels, but the web of economic strategies and commercial interests that cause individual people to change or maintain certain behaviours. Heads of industry would probably argue that they are not trying to create an obesity epidemic. |
