Food News Today Transcripts for the week of June 15th, 2011

How eye tracking technology enables product and communication success, helping dad be healthy this Fathers Day, and just how do we adjust our eating and health habits after receiving unsettling health news? for June 15th 2011. This is Food News Today

Good Morning.  Immediately following Food News Today, we continue with a live discussion in our chat room below. Please sign in and join us. Food News Today is sponsored by ConAgra Foods, who shares with me the desire to provide the most current, interesting and unbiased food news. 

>In Xtreme Retail we take a look at a technology that gives companies an edge.  Eye tracking technology measures exactly where we look, enabling companies to see right away whether or not their current communication strategy is working to its true potential.  Earlier this week I interviewed  Jeff Bander, Senior VP of Client Services at EyeTrackShop - the company that developed the first eye tracking solution for webcams - they claim they have revolutionized the way in which businesses can conduct market research.

>This Sunday is Fathers Day - in today's Retail Trends we explore a new merchandising opportunity with healthier results for Dad and your store. Our recommendation to shoppers is not to give dads another tie, ugly or not, this Father’s Day.  Instead, we suggest giving the gift of healthier eating that could lead to a longer, and richer, life of wellness. Retailers could do well by promoting a concept that says, “Dad, we love you. We want you around for a long time.”Nearly three out of 10 American adult men (28.1%) were obese in 2010, according to the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index. About 1 adult male in 8 has diabetes (diagnosed or undiagnosed)—specifically 13.0 million, according to the National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse. About 1 adult in 3 has high blood pressure. The majority (80%) of them are aware of their condition, but fewer than half have their condition under control, notes United Health Group.  Related: nearly 1 in 4 men (23%) smoke cigarettes, and 15% of adults have high total serum cholesterol levels. The pressures dads face in this economy could add to their unhealthy, emotional eating. It’s up to families—and to supermarkets as their primary food resources—to make this Father’s Day a turning point for better health.  Men can serve as an example of healthful eating – at work or at home – by making smart foods choices when they’re around colleagues, children and spouses.  Because as our next story demonstrates that most of us won’t do it on our own.

>In our Health & Wellness report this week we take a look at research that is unsettling. It appears that when confronted with bad news about their health - People Don’t Change Habits. You would imagine that when one receives a serious diagnosis or illness that might be the trigger point.  Apparently not, according to several studies that expose the reality that many are unwilling to take responsibility for their own health - especially through diet and lifestyle changes, both of which are under our control.  Research has demonstrated that certain healthy lifestyle habits can improve overall health and reduce risk of recurrence. Heart attack patients who go through exercise-based rehab, reduce their risk of dying by about 30 percent.  Women with breast cancer who engage in regular physical activity (versus those who do not) reduce their risk of death (due to breast cancer) by 50 percent or more. Despite this compelling research, patients resist change.
A study published in the American Heart Journal evaluated over 1,200 men and women who had suffered a heart attack and were overweight. In the year following the incident participants had lost a mere two-tenths of one percent of body weight. That’s less than a half a pound for a 220 pound person! The Journal of Clinical Oncology published a study that followed over 9,000 cancer survivors evaluating positive lifestyle changes following treatment. Surprisingly, most survivors made little or no lifestyle changes; for instance, fewer than 20 percent of the cancer survivors were consuming the recommended 5 fruits and vegetables a day- which contain powerful antioxidant phytonutrients that are know to reduce the risk of cancer. So we have to wonder if along with the life threatening diagnosis, are doctors relaying the need to make healthy lifestyle changes? Apparently not.  Centers for Disease Control researchers interviewed 1,600 cancer survivors to find out whether they had received guidance on lifestyle changes and nutrition suggestions relating to preventing recurrence. Only 1 in 3 cancer survivors said their physician offered info about diet.  Clearly our doctors, perhaps because of capitation time constraints or because of a lack of knowledge themselves, are not getting these important messages out and as a result Americans are not empowered to understand how proper diet and exercise will actually make a difference in their lives.  What do you think?

For Food News Today, I’m Phil Lempert, thanks for joining us. If you have a colleague in retailing, the media or a blogger who would like to also receive our advance email - please send them to foodnewstoday.com to sign up. Next weeks stories will be in your Tuesday email.