Crikey launches a special investigation into how fast food marketers use sport and sporting stars to sell their wares. Today, the Big Daddy of them all — McDonalds.
Obesity epidemic
The fattest nations on the planet
Australians may be fat, but we ain’t fat enough to make the top ten list of countries (to be fair, we make the top twenty) of the WHO’s most obese nations. A whopping 95% of Nauru’s population is overweight and
KFC cooks up a deep-fried marketing win
KFC has released perhaps one of the most terrifying food-like products of all time: a double-cheese and bacon burger with fried chicken in place of a bun. And every food critic in America just had to try one.
Thai-a-betes: Thailand’s new epidemic
Thais are getting richer — and fatter. The country’s love of sugar, mixed with rising income levels, has been a recipe for disaster: one in 10 Thais now suffer from diabetes.
It’s time you knew what you’re eating
The debate over traffic light labelling for food in Australia is off and racing, but it doesn’t have to be a burnout, says Dr Trevor Beard: there is a way to please both industry and consumers.
The 10 fattest countries in the world
Which countries have the most obese people and how did they get that way? Coming in at number one is American Samoa, with 93.5% of its population considered overweight. But countries like the US, Germany and even New Zealand aren’t that far behind.
Would calorie-counting menus help bust Australia’s big bellies?
There is a weight-busting move afoot in the US to introduce calorie-counting menus in chain restaurants. Would such a move be useful and welcomed in Australia? Health experts weigh-in.
Fruit juice: a nutritious way to get extremely fat
A glass of apple juice is no better for you than a glass of Coke — the average soft drink is 10% sugar and so is the average juice. Drinking fruit juice is just a nutritious way to get extremely fat.
How many calories would you like with that order?
Croakey’s North American correspondent, Dr Lesley Russell, investigates the effectiveness of “calorie-counting” menus, while a local obesity policy expert, Jane Martin, looks at whether such an option might be useful in Australia.
Like good health, it’s all about balance
Last week, David Gillespie criticised the use of Nestle’s Optifast weight loss shake. But the obesity epidemic of the past 30 years is not due to a single cause, writes Neil Holt.
Australia’s real body image problem: pretending we’re not fat
42% of all Australian women over 18 are overweight or obese; 4% are underweight. Before worrying about Photoshopped images of super-skinny models, there is — literally — a much bigger problem to tackle, says Virginia Haussegger.
Keane: Everything that’s wrong with the Preventive Health scheme
Bernard Keane is not a fan of the government’s proposed National Preventive Health Agency, and it’s not just the Nanny State thing (though there is that): it’s because the bulk of the agency’s funding will be directed to pointless “social marketing campaigns”.
Why overweight kids are victims of child abuse
Being fat is one thing, says India Knight: feed your face as much as you want. But if you feed your kids so much, and so poorly, that they develop weight issues, expect them to be taken away from you.
Selling our kids to McDonald’s
McDonald’s has pulled off a huge marketing coups by signing up more than 230,000 NSW students to its maths tutoring program. Dr Rosemary Stanton, Jane Martin and Professor Elizabeth Waters weigh-in on whether the whole scheme undermines the government’s rhetoric on tackling childhood obesity.
Still sweet for sugar in fat, slumbering Australia
Big Sugar in the United States is spending vast streams of cash to defend sugary drinks in the debate around soft drink and obesity — but at least they’re having a debate.
Is raising kids on a diet of TV child abuse?
Sex, violence and mindless manipulation: if TV came in a bottle, it would be illegal to sell it to children, says Jeff Jacoby. Why do we work so hard to keep our kids away from booze and drugs, then willingly plonk them for hours in front of an equally destructive addiction?
Bill Maher: Whatever happened to “Yes we can”?
Ten months in, and Obama can’t get the US out of Iraq or Afghanistan, fix health care, close Gitmo or cap carbon emissions. When did America get so lazy? Maybe it’s something they’re putting in the country’s high-fat, high-sugar food. Possibly the fat and sugar.
It’s time to let the government into our pantries
The obesity epidemic is costing Australia $8.3 billion a year, and the death toll continues to rise. Self-regulation has failed, says Michael Smith: it’s time to embrace the nanny state.
Debunking the myth that fast food is cheaper
Much of the obesity epidemic is blamed on fast food being cheaper than home-made, but cook Sally Sampson blows this myth wide open, whipping up her own pizzas, Whoppers and Egg McMuffins for a fraction of the price — not to mention the calories.
All this nagging, Nicola, isn’t making us thin
Health Minister Nicola Roxon thinks we’re too fat, smoke too much and drink too much. But don’t worry, she’s got a solution: she’s going to nag us to death instead. Even if research suggests it won’t work.
Health Taskforce wishes you all a long, dull life with nanny
People get fat because they eat too much and don’t exercise enough. Yesterday’s National Preventative Health Taskforce’s report was full of surprises, writes Tim Wilson.
Tackling obesity with economics
Want to solve the obesity epidemic? Instead of relying on the notoriously unscientific diet industry, maybe it’s time to give economists a shot, says Andrew Leigh.
Time to treat Big Food like Big Tobacco?
Just as Big Tobacco swore that smoking doesn’t cause cancer, the food industry may never admit that its calorie-laden wares are making us fat; but that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be held to account: it’s time to recast the industry as “obesity dealers”, says Ellen Goodman.
Why we’re fat — and getting fatter
Weight-[em]loss[/em] books have been an ever-expanding genre for decades, but now an increasing body of literature on exactly what is driving the West’s weight [em]gain[/em] is appearing. So why are we getting so porky?
