Is McDonald’s Exporting Obesity?
By Scott Reeves Nov 09, 2009 1:30 pm
Overseas sales are growing, and so are foreigners’ waistlines.
The World Health Organization says about one billion people worldwide are now obese. Since 1980, the number of obese Europeans has tripled. By some estimates, about half the population of the United Kingdom is overweight or obese.
“The medical community is dumbfounded by the problem,” Dr. Bernadine Healy wrote recently in US News & World Report. “Across the developing world, too, obesity has become a major affliction as people move out of poverty.”
Traditionally, a person more than 20% over the ideal weight has been considered obese. The National Institutes of Health defines obesity as a body mass index, a key for relating weight to height, of 30 or above.
In the US, about 65% of the population is overweight and obesity has doubled since 1980. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that in 1960, the average weight of women aged 20 to 29 was 128 pounds. By 2000, the average weight for women in that age group had grown to 157 pounds, a 22.6% increase.
The concern isn’t just aesthetic: Obesity cuts lives short and increases the incidence of diabetes, heart disease, stroke and cancer.
Clearly, there's no single cause for increased obesity worldwide. But it’s curious that the rise of obesity apparently follows the growing popularity of fast food and the increased use of high-fructose corn syrup as a sweetener in soft drinks and other products that are served at many fast food restaurants.
The worldwide success of McDonald’s, the world’s largest restaurant company by sales, may offer some insight into the problem.
The company’s October sales fell 0.1% in the US, only the third time monthly sales totals have declined in 6.5 years.
In general, the recession has helped McDonald’s generate strong sales as consumers looking to stretch a buck trade down to cheaper fare, but tough economic times appear to limit breakfast and lunch sales.
Last year, sales at outlets open at least a year rose 5.3% in the US and 8.2% overall.
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Reply
2009-11-09 13:45:02
Phat chance
Let me weigh in here, who you calling fat. After the never ending pasta bowl at the Olive Garden we stuffed our selves into our Nissan phatfinder and rushed home to watch the Biggest Loser. Afterward, we washed down some Haaggen dazs with a six pack of Corona or was it Labatts? :-)
2009-11-09 14:30:00
Just goes to show that investing in addictive substance industries...
is always a winner! Also, all these addictive industries are excellent when it comes to getting the sheep addicted when they are very young and Mickey D's is no exception now is it.
2009-11-10 18:40:07
HFCS obesity
Consumption of high fructose corn syrup has been dropping in recent years, yet the rates of obesity and diabetes in the United States continue to rise. Moreover, many other parts of the world have rising rates of obesity and diabetes, despite having little or no high fructose corn syrup in their foods and beverages. In fact, sugar accounts for about 92 percent of caloric sweeteners consumed worldwide.
The American Medical Association stated in June 2008 that “…high fructose syrup does not appear to contribute to obesity more than other caloric sweeteners...” And, the American Dietetic Association (ADA) concluded in December 2008 that “No persuasive evidence supports the claim that high fructose corn syrup is a unique contributor to obesity.”
As many dietitians agree, all sugars should be consumed in moderation as part of a balanced lifestyle.
Consumers can see the latest research and learn more about high fructose corn syrup at www.SweetSurprise.com.
Audrae Erickson
President
Corn Refiners Association
The American Medical Association stated in June 2008 that “…high fructose syrup does not appear to contribute to obesity more than other caloric sweeteners...” And, the American Dietetic Association (ADA) concluded in December 2008 that “No persuasive evidence supports the claim that high fructose corn syrup is a unique contributor to obesity.”
As many dietitians agree, all sugars should be consumed in moderation as part of a balanced lifestyle.
Consumers can see the latest research and learn more about high fructose corn syrup at www.SweetSurprise.com.
Audrae Erickson
President
Corn Refiners Association
2009-11-11 07:38:28
It's not that baffling...
"“The medical community is dumbfounded by the problem,” Dr. Bernadine Healy wrote recently in US News & World Report. “Across the developing world, too, obesity has become a major affliction as people move out of poverty.”"
The medical community is dumbfounded because they've never done anything as practical as raise animals or test theories on themselves.
Obesity is caused by an excess of carbohydrates/calories in a diet. If you want a fat goose, you feed it grain and confine it. (Actually, force feed it grain causes nice fatty livers.). If you want thinner and healthier poultry, let them forge for the bugs and grass that are naturally part of their diet.
The same principle applies to horses, cats, dogs, and humans. Eat the meat in the middle, forgo the fries and soda and there's nothing wrong with McDees.
The medical community is dumbfounded because they've never done anything as practical as raise animals or test theories on themselves.
Obesity is caused by an excess of carbohydrates/calories in a diet. If you want a fat goose, you feed it grain and confine it. (Actually, force feed it grain causes nice fatty livers.). If you want thinner and healthier poultry, let them forge for the bugs and grass that are naturally part of their diet.
The same principle applies to horses, cats, dogs, and humans. Eat the meat in the middle, forgo the fries and soda and there's nothing wrong with McDees.
2009-11-11 07:51:28
HFCS obesity
If high fructose corn syrup is so swell, please post how many pounds a day of the stuff you consume.
People shouldn't be eating sugar at all. (And no, I'm not going to "moderate" that statement, unlike the dietitians I know who are also generally overweight.) And high fructose corn syrup is by far the worst choice of the lot. Fructose, because of how it's digested, is thought to lead much more quickly to the condition of diabetes than the consumption of sucrose.
The AMA is an organization dedicated to making sure doctors stay in business. As I stated before, doctors have their collective head where the sun don't shine about diet. I stopped believing in Santa Claus and that any large special interest group had my best interest at heart a long time ago.
People shouldn't be eating sugar at all. (And no, I'm not going to "moderate" that statement, unlike the dietitians I know who are also generally overweight.) And high fructose corn syrup is by far the worst choice of the lot. Fructose, because of how it's digested, is thought to lead much more quickly to the condition of diabetes than the consumption of sucrose.
The AMA is an organization dedicated to making sure doctors stay in business. As I stated before, doctors have their collective head where the sun don't shine about diet. I stopped believing in Santa Claus and that any large special interest group had my best interest at heart a long time ago.
2009-11-11 14:35:20
HFCS obesity
Look what I found here on Wikipedia on HFCS.
"Critics of HFCS point out a correlation between increased usage of HFCS in foods and obesity rates in the United States over three decades. Some allege that HFCS is in itself more detrimental to health than table sugar (sucrose); others claim that the low cost of HFCS encourages over consumption of sugars. The Corn Refiners Association has launched an aggressive advertising campaign to counter these criticisms, claiming that high-fructose corn syrup "is natural" and "has the same natural sweeteners as table sugar".[30] Both sides point to studies in peer reviewed journals that allegedly support their point of view. Articles noting the negative health effects are more numerous than their opposing counterparts, and there have been accusations of corn lobby funding for articles supporting neutral or positive health consequences."
"Critics of HFCS point out a correlation between increased usage of HFCS in foods and obesity rates in the United States over three decades. Some allege that HFCS is in itself more detrimental to health than table sugar (sucrose); others claim that the low cost of HFCS encourages over consumption of sugars. The Corn Refiners Association has launched an aggressive advertising campaign to counter these criticisms, claiming that high-fructose corn syrup "is natural" and "has the same natural sweeteners as table sugar".[30] Both sides point to studies in peer reviewed journals that allegedly support their point of view. Articles noting the negative health effects are more numerous than their opposing counterparts, and there have been accusations of corn lobby funding for articles supporting neutral or positive health consequences."
2009-11-11 16:01:15
HFCS obesity
Victor -
Thanks for this. I'm not suprised. It did look like a cut and pasted version of a prepared sound byte. Still I didn't want let it pass without saying something. (Heaven forbid!) *grin*
What gets my goat is that except for the diabetes issue, the whole obesity debate on corn syrup seems well, rather pointless. "Good" calories in things like fruit and rice can create the same obesity (if over consumed) as the "evil" corn syrup. I suspect that's not something people actually want to talk about in the end.
Thanks for this. I'm not suprised. It did look like a cut and pasted version of a prepared sound byte. Still I didn't want let it pass without saying something. (Heaven forbid!) *grin*
What gets my goat is that except for the diabetes issue, the whole obesity debate on corn syrup seems well, rather pointless. "Good" calories in things like fruit and rice can create the same obesity (if over consumed) as the "evil" corn syrup. I suspect that's not something people actually want to talk about in the end.
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