get realsight

Good or Bad 2: Does it matter?

As a follow-up to an earlier post:

Remember the carb vs. fat debate? I lived it while working at Kraft.

Here's the latest study from Harvard:

http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1822118,00.html?xid=feed-yahoo-full-healthsci

The punch line: what matters is the quality of the overall diet.

Surprised? We're not.

Good or Bad: Does it matter?

So many studies, so much confusion.

For years the food and beverage industry has been under scrutiny for various ingredients in products. There isn't a week that goes by when we don't see another research study with another finding that seems to contradict the last study.

The latest research study posted in the GMA Smartbrief concludes that sugar can help children stay focused. This comes at a time when food and beverage companies are actively reducing sugar levels or developing new products with low calorie sweeteners. If you walk down the juice aisle in your local grocery store you'll notice almost every brand has a reduced sugar version of the original products.

Consumers now have a variety of healthy options across many categories, but are these choices really changing behavior? They may be consuming "better for you" products; however, their overall health and wellness routines are likely not changing much. For example, Diet Coke, salad, and water are healthier than the alternatives...

"Woke up at 8, started laundry. The little boy I babysit brought donuts. So oops there goes my diet. I had 2 glazed. Ate them while watching tv with the kids. Than had to rush to get ready for church. After church I had a diet coke on our way to register my son for the ice hockey team he made. Than we rushed to meet some friends at my sons roller hockey. After roller we went with some friends to Sizzler. It was a late lunch. About 3. I had a salad bar. Which means to much food. I had a really good salad, lettuce, red onions, kidney beans, garbonzo beans, hard boil eggs, diced ham, cheese, and to much blue cheese dressing. And thennnnnnnnnnnnnn I had 2 pcs of chicken wings, little corn nuggets, and a taco. YIKES Im still full and its 11 at night. I drank water. And I had a small ice cream cone on the way out."

The little changes people make to be healthy do add up; however, a clearer understanding of everyday routines will allow companies to see the trade-offs people make as they manage their daily lives. This will allow organizations to allocate internal resources to health and wellness efforts in situations that make a real difference.

Healthy Lifestyle: Myth or Reality?

Food manufacturers, retailers and restaurants are rapidly designing food and beverage solutions to help people develop and maintain a healthy lifestyle. However, obesity and related health conditions continue to rise despite the best efforts of companies that sell food and beverages to the American population.

Our experience has demonstrated there is a significant gap between the meaning of a healthy lifestyle for the companies that market healthy foods and the people that consume these products. While companies commonly use the phrase “healthy lifestyle” in advertising, this is very unobtainable in the short-term for most people. The few people who truly live a healthy lifestyle focus all their behaviors on maintaining that lifestyle. In reality, most people are just trying to get through their day and are happy with one behavior modification. For example, starting to eat breakfast:

“For the past few days my eating habits have been improving. On Tuesday I started eating breakfast. On Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday I have been consistent before work. I have been eating sourdough toast with Albertson’s brand peanut butter and Motts Apple Juice. On Tuesday I stopped by Pete's Patio and ate a Cheeseburger and chile cheese fries with a large ice tea. I don't like the flavored Ice tea, I always want fresh brewed Ice Tea. I stopped by my mom's house for dinner and she was making ground beef tacos with spanish style rich and pinto beans. I had an Albertsons brand juice to drink and got home and ate a Hostess cupcake before going to sleep.”

The Reality: the meaning of a healthy is personal. Products must fit existing individual routines, helping people make evolutionary health shifts over extended periods of time, rather than revolutionary changes at the same time. Through understanding actual healthy behavior and comparing it to perceptions allows food companies help people evolve their behavior to a healthier lifestyle over time.

We will share our learning as we continue to discover what healthy really means through our own work. Our goal is to help companies see the meaning of health through the eyes of the consumer.