{"id":10438,"date":"2024-08-21T13:59:37","date_gmt":"2024-08-21T06:59:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/?p=10438"},"modified":"2024-08-21T13:59:37","modified_gmt":"2024-08-21T06:59:37","slug":"corporate-influence-and-our-epidemic-of-obesity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/?p=10438","title":{"rendered":"Corporate Influence and Our Epidemic of Obesity\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Like the tobacco industry adding extra nicotine to cigarettes, the food industry employs taste engineers to accomplish a similar goal of maximizing the irresistibility of its products.<\/p>\n<p>The plague of tobacco deaths wasn\u2019t due just to the mass manufacturing and marketing of cheap cigarettes. Tobacco companies actively sought to <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/24011763\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">make<\/a> their products even more crave-able by spraying sheets of tobacco with nicotine and additives like ammonia to provide \u201ca bigger nicotine \u2018kick.\u2019\u201d Similarly, taste engineers are <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/25602888\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">hired<\/a> by the food industry to maximize product irresistibility.<\/p>\n<p>Taste <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/12468634\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">is<\/a> the leading factor in food choice. \u201cSugar, fat, and salt have been <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/21219166\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">called<\/a> the three points of the compass\u201d to produce \u201csuperstimulating\u201d and \u201chyper palatability\u201d to tempt people into impulsive buys and compulsive consumption. Foods are intentionally designed to hook into our evolutionary triggers and breach whatever biological barriers help \u201ckeep consumption within reasonable limits.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Big Food is big business. The processed food industry alone <a href=\"https:\/\/www.semanticscholar.org\/paper\/Big-Food-corporations-and-the-nutritional-marketing-Scrinis\/2bb0fc5615bb180039a68aeeffab2ea9f2f018bf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">brings<\/a> in more than $2 trillion a year. That affords them the economic might to manipulate not only taste profiles, but public policy and scientific inquiry, too. The food, alcohol, and tobacco industries have all <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/22802734\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">used<\/a> similar unsavory tactics: blocking health regulations, co-opting professional organizations, creating front groups, and distorting the science. The common \u201ccorporate playbook\u201d shouldn\u2019t be surprising, given the common corporate threads. At one time, for example, tobacco giant Philip Morris <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/23410611\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">owned<\/a> both Kraft and Miller Brewing.<\/p>\n<p>As you can see below and at 1:45 in my video <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/video\/the-role-of-corporate-influence-in-the-obesity-epidemic\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Role of Corporate Influence in the Obesity Epidemic<\/a><\/strong>, in a single year, the food industry <a href=\"https:\/\/www.opensecrets.org\/federal-lobbying\/industries\/summary?cycle=2009&amp;id=n01\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">spent<\/a> more than $50 million to hire hundreds of lobbyists to influence legislation. Most of these lobbyists<a href=\"https:\/\/pjephl.law.pitt.edu\/ojs\/index.php\/pjephl\/article\/view\/40\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> were<\/a> \u201crevolvers,\u201d former federal employees in the revolving door between industry and its regulators, who could push corporate interests from the inside, only to be rewarded with cushy lobbying jobs after their \u201cpublic service.\u201d In the following year, the industry <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Citizens_United_v._FEC\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">acquired<\/a> a new weapon\u2014a stick to go along with all those carrots. On January 21, 2010, the Supreme Court\u2019s five-to-four Citizen\u2019s United ruling permitted corporations to spend unlimited amounts of money on campaign ads to trash anyone who dared stand against them. No wonder our elected officials <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/21872749\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">have<\/a> so thoroughly shrunk from the fight, leaving us largely with a government of Big Food, by Big Food, and for Big Food.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-108555\" src=\"https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/07\/1-45.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/07\/1-45.png 1920w, https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/07\/1-45-960x540.png 960w, https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/07\/1-45-1024x576.png 1024w, https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/07\/1-45-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/07\/1-45-1536x864.png 1536w, https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/07\/1-45-480x270.png 480w, https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/07\/1-45-1200x675.png 1200w, https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/07\/1-45-720x405.png 720w, https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/07\/1-45-540x304.png 540w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Globally, a similar dynamic <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/22802734\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">exists<\/a>. Weak tea calls from the public health community for voluntary standards are met not only with vicious fights against meaningful change but also massive transnational trade and foreign investment deals that \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/26745231\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">cement<\/a> the protection of their [food industry] profits\u201d into the laws of the lands.<\/p>\n<p>The corrupting commercial influence extends to medical associations. Reminiscent of the \u201cjust what the doctor ordered\u201d cigarette ads of yesteryear, as you can see below and at 3:05 in my <a href=\"https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/video\/the-role-of-corporate-influence-in-the-obesity-epidemic\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>video<\/strong><\/a>, the American Academy of Family Physicians <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/20015423\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">accepted<\/a> millions from The Coca-Cola Company to \u201cdevelop consumer education content on beverages and sweeteners.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-108557\" src=\"https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/07\/3-05.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/07\/3-05.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/07\/3-05-960x540.jpg 960w, https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/07\/3-05-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/07\/3-05-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/07\/3-05-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/07\/3-05-480x270.jpg 480w, https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/07\/3-05-1200x675.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/07\/3-05-720x405.jpg 720w, https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/07\/3-05-540x304.jpg 540w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>On the front line, fake grassroots \u201cAstroturf\u201d groups are<a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/22687144\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> used<\/a> to mask the corporate message. RJ Reynolds created Get Government Off Our Back (memorably acronymed GGOOB), \u201ca front group created by the tobacco industry to fight regulation,\u201d for instance. Americans Against Food Taxes may as just as well be called \u201cFood Industry Against Food Taxes.\u201d The power of front group formation is enough to <a href=\"https:\/\/yourcartyourchoice.com\/about\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">bind<\/a> bitter corporate rivals; the Sugar Association and the Corn Refiners Association linked arms with the National Confectioners Association to partner with Americans for Food and Beverage Choice.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/8784687\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Using<\/a> another tried-and-true tobacco tactic, research front groups can be used to <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/28689497\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">subvert<\/a> the scientific process by shaping or <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/24011763\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">suppressing<\/a> the science that deviates from the corporate agenda. Take the trans fat story. Food manufacturers have not only \u201clong <a href=\"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/abs\/10.1177\/0270467611422837\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">denied<\/a> that trans fats were associated with disease,\u201d but actively \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/24011763\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">worked<\/a> to limit research on trans fats\u201d and \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/abs\/10.1177\/0270467611422837\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">discredit<\/a> potentially damaging findings.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>At what cost? The global death toll from foods high in trans fat, saturated fat, salt, and sugar <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/21474174\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">is<\/a> at 14 million lost lives <em>every year<\/em>. The inability of countries around the world to turn the tide on obesity \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.who.int\/director-general\/speeches\/2013\/health_promotion_20130610\/en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">is<\/a> not a failure of individual will-power. This is a failure of political will to take on big business,\u201d said the Director-General of the World Health Organization. \u201cIt is a failure of political will to <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/28266071\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">take<\/a> on the powerful food and soda industries.\u201d She <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/28266071\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ended<\/a> her keynote address before the National Academy of Medicine entitled \u201cObesity and Diabetes: The Slow-Motion Disaster\u201d with these words: \u201cThe interests of the public must be prioritized over those of corporations.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Are you mad yet? To sum up my answer to the question underlying my What Triggered the Obesity Epidemic? webinar, it\u2019s the food. I close next with my wrap-up video: <a href=\"https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/video\/the-role-of-the-toxic-food-environment-in-the-obesity-epidemic\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>The Role of the Toxic Food Environment in the Obesity Epidemic<\/strong><\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>This was part of an 11-part series. See the related posts below.<\/p>\n<p>If the political angle interests you, check out:\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"et_social_bottom_trigger\"\/>  <\/div>\n<p><script>\n            !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)\n            {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?\n                n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};\n            if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';\n            n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;\n            t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];\n            s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window, document,'script',\n                'https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\n            fbq('init', '1582627921973608');\n            fbq('track', 'PageView');\n        <\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><div data-type=\"_mgwidget\" data-widget-id=\"1675549\">\r\n<\/div>\r\n<script>(function(w,q){w[q]=w[q]||[];w[q].push([\"_mgc.load\"])})(window,\"_mgq\");\r\n<\/script>\r\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Like the tobacco industry adding extra nicotine to cigarettes, the food industry employs taste engineers to accomplish a similar goal of maximizing the irresistibility of its products. The plague of tobacco deaths wasn\u2019t due just to the mass manufacturing and marketing of cheap cigarettes. Tobacco companies actively sought to make their products even more crave-able &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":10439,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10438","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10438","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10438"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10438\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/10439"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10438"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10438"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10438"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}