New Profit Opportunities in Health and Nutrition to 2009: Changing Consumer Concerns and Market Influencers in Food and Drinks doc

CONSUMER
NEW PROFIT OPPORTUNITIES IN
HEALTH AND NUTRITION TO 2009
Changing consumer concerns and market influencers in
food and drinks
By Helen Lewis
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Helen Lewis
Helen has worked for Business Insights managing the Consumer Goods publishing
division for more than three years. Helen has a strong background in journalism, market
research and analysis and a Journalism BA (Hons) from City University in London. She
has written for numerous lifestyle and food and drinks websites including www.a-z.com
and www.crushguide.com and worked for MORI. Helen is currently studying nutrition
and will be a fully qualified practising nutritionist in mid-2005.

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Table of Contents
New Profit Opportunities in Health and Nutrition to 2009
Changing consumer concerns and market influencers in food

and drinks
Executive Summary 10
Identifying consumers’ health concerns 10
Profitability hotspots and innovation opportunities 11
New product development 12
Conclusions and profit opportunities by market category 13
Chapter 1 Introduction to the Report 16
Aim of the report 16
Identifying the main health-related issues influencing the food and drinks
industry at present 18

Chapter 2 Identifying Consumers’ Health
Concerns 22

Summary 22
Introduction 23
Obesity 23
A definition 23
The unhealthy facts 24
Nutritional influence 25
Who/what is accountable for the rising levels of obesity? 26
Adults versus children 27
What factors are causing obesity in children? 27
What factors are causing obesity in adults? 28
Obesity case study: Weight Watchers’ reinvention 28
Diabetes 30
A definition 30
The unhealthy facts 31
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Diabetic food and drinks 32

Healthy meal recommendations 32
Breakfast 32
Lunch and dinner 32
Diabetic-friendly products 33
Product opportunities 34
Ingredients 35
Tagatose 35
Chromium 36
Dieting choices – far too many to choose from? 37
The typical length of a diet 38
Low fat/low calorie diets remain the most popular for consumers 39
Promoting a long-standing breakfast product as a diet food 40
Glycaemic Index: the next big thing? 42
What is the GI diet? 43
GI diets and diabetes 45
New Zealand strongly in favour of GI 45
Nutritionists’ expert opinions on the GI diet 47
The small issue of exercise… 48
Over the last six months, how often have you exercised, on average, per
week? 49

The impact of food scares on consumers’ perceptions of the food and
drinks industry 50

GM foods 51
Global snapshot of the GM food market 53

The United Kingdom 54
Asia 54
Russia 55
Africa 56
Australia 56
The United States 57
Are consumers likely to accept GM foods into their daily diet over the next
five years? 57

Chapter 3 Profitability Hotspots and
Innovation Opportunities 60
Summary 60
Introduction 61
Steady market growth expected for the healthy food and drinks market 61
How successful in terms of sales do you believe the next five years
will be globally for the health food and drinks market? 61

Most profitable target audiences for health food and drinks 62
The most successful healthy food and drinks sectors to 2009 65
Functional food and drinks 67
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Future success potential of functional food and drink products 67
With all this activity, are consumers prepared to pay a premium price for
functional products? 68

Functional versus organic 68
Senior consumers are ready and waiting for functional and healthy products

to promote longevity 69

Which organic products do older consumers typically purchase? 71
Glico functional food and drinks – best practice company from a best practice
country 71

Profitability hotspots 73
Profitability hotspots in the healthy food and drinks arena at present 73
Profitability hotspots in 2009 74
Low carb versus low calorie competition assessment 76
Chapter 4 New Product Development 80
Summary 80
Introduction 81
Launching a successful new product is difficult enough, let alone launching a
healthy new product… 81

Which healthy brands/private labels are consumers most interested in? 81
Cadbury’s easily beats the diet products in terms of consumption 82
Retailer private label 83
Foodservice 84
Low carb 85
Industry insight into the next big thing in healthy NPD 86
Drinks 86
Perceptions of healthy drink products to 2009 86
Foods 87
Perceptions of healthy food products to 2009 87
Future forecast: top 10 successful healthy food products to 2009 88
Innovative functional and low calorie product launches 89
Australia: fortified water 89
Australia: nutritional food range 89

Germany: vitamin-enhanced spreads 90
South Africa: the first prebiotic brand in the UK 90
United States: low calorie ready meals 91
United States: fortified berries 91
United States: soy burger to replace veggie burger 91
Anti-ageing products 91
Lessons to be learned by the food and drinks industry from the
growing skincare market targeting consumers’ age concerns 92

Antioxidants for anti-ageing 93
Omega-3 94
The research 94
The health benefits of omega-3 95
Sources of omega-3 96
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Products sold on their omega content 96
Focus on salt reduction 97
Arguments for salt 97
Arguments against salt 98
The food and drink industry’s reaction and future action 99
Sodium reductions already made in some processed food sectors 100
Sid the slug campaign 101
Retailers’ reactions: The Co-op 102
Manufacturer’s reactions 102
Next on the agenda – sugar 103
Vegetarian and meat-free products 104
The future potential for vegetarian/meat-free products in the next five years 104

Branded, high quality, healthy vegetarian products are the way forward 106
Innovative vegetarian/healthy product launches 106
Health is wealth 107
Chapter 5 Conclusions and Profit
Opportunities By Market
Category 110

Summary 110
Introduction 111
Dairy 111
Promoting the probiotics content of dairy products 111
Promoting the benefits of dairy for pregnancy 112
Confectionery 113
Soft drinks 113
Fruit juices related to particular body parts/ailments 114
Vegetable juices related to particular body parts/ailments 115
Alcoholic drinks 115
Bakery 118
Snacks 119
The gluten-free diet 120
What is coeliac disease? 120
Sources of gluten that have to be avoided on a gluten-free diet 121
Manufacturers of gluten-free products 122
Glutano – manufacturing gluten-free products 122
Meal solutions 124
Opportunities for healthy canned meals range with added vitamins
and minerals 124

Canned meat 125
Canned pasta 125

Canned vegetables 126
Definitions 127
Index 129
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List of Figures
Figure 1.1: Highly important consumer concerns with a view to the potential future impact on
food and drink development 20

Figure 2.2: How long is the typical diet? 39
Figure 2.3: What are the most popular diets according to the consumers? 40
Figure 2.4: Is the GI diet set to become the next big dieting trend? 43
Figure 2.5: The Australian GI symbol 46
Figure 2.6: Is exercise as important as dieting to consumers? How often do consumers exercise
per week? 50

Figure 2.7: What impact do you believe food scares such as BSE/CJD and bird flu have had on
consumers’ perceptions of the food and drinks industry? 50

Figure 2.8: Are consumers increasingly likely to accept GM foods into their daily diet over the
next five years? 58

Figure 3.9: How successful in terms of sales do you believe the next five years will be globally for
the health food and drinks market? 62

Figure 3.10: Age groups expected to experience the most NPD activity over the next five years 63
Figure 3.11: What do you perceive to be the most profitable health food and drinks sectors over the
next five years? 66

Figure 3.12: How do you perceive the future success of the following functional products over the
next five years? 68

Figure 3.13: Consumers’ willingness to pay a premium for functional versus organic 69
Figure 3.14: Profitability hotspots in the healthy food and drinks arena at present 74
Figure 3.15: Profitability hotspots in the healthy food and drinks arena by 2009 76
Figure 4.16: Cadbury’s easily beats the diet product examples in terms of consumption 82
Figure 4.17: Have you purchased any of the following retailer’s private label products in the past
12 months? 84

Figure 4.18: Have you purchased any of the following foodservice branded products in the past 12
months? 85

Figure 4.19: Have you purchased any of the following low carb branded products in the past 12
months? 86

Figure 4.20: Future forecast: top 10 successful healthy food products to 2009 88
Figure 4.21: Heinz soup – reduced salt 100
Figure 4.22: Sid the Slug – anti-salt campaign 102
Figure 4.23: Vegetarian-friendly cereals with added health benefits, soya milkshakes and meat-free
pepperoni pizza 108


List of Tables
Table 1.1: Rating the importance of the influence of 11 consumer concerns on the development
of the food and drinks industry 19

Table 2.2: Do you think the food and drinks industry should be held responsible for the rising
levels of obesity in children? 26

Table 2.3: How important do you consider the following factors in the controversial debate on
rising levels of obesity in children? 27

Table 2.4: How important do you consider the following factors in the controversial debate on
rising levels of obesity in adults? 28

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Table 2.5: Prevalence of diabetes in the seven major markets 31
Table 2.6: Which of the following diets have consumers tried in the past? 40
Table 2.7: What impact do you believe food scares such as BSE/CJD and bird flu have had on
consumers’ perception of the food and drinks industry? 51

Table 3.8: How successful in terms of sales do you believe the next five years will be globally for
the health food and drinks market? 61

Table 3.9: Age groups expected to experience the most NPD activity over the next five years 63
Table 3.10: What do you perceive to be the most successful health food and drinks sectors over the
next five years? 66

Table 3.11: Future success potential of functional food and drink products 67
Table 3.12: Profitability hotspots in the healthy food and drinks arena at present 73
Table 3.13: Profitability hotspots in the healthy food and drinks arena by 2009 75
Table 3.14: Low carb versus low calorie competition assessment 77
Table 4.15: Have you purchased any products from the following companies/brands in the past 12
months? 83

Table 4.16: Perceptions of healthy drink products to 2009 86
Table 4.17: Perceptions of healthy food products to 2009 87
Table 4.18: Lessons to be learned by the food and drinks industry from the growing skincare
market targeting consumers’ age concerns 92

Table 4.19: Antioxidants for anti-ageing 93
Table 4.20: Food and drinks companies plans to reduce levels of salt in their products 103
Table 4.21: What is the future potential for vegetarian/meat-free products in the next five years?
104

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Executive Summary
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Executive Summary
Identifying consumers’ health concerns
 Many food and drinks companies can work to offer another option to people who
are overweight or obese by clearer labelling, healthier ingredients and intelligent
marketing and promotions.
 An unhealthy diet as a child often results in a permanently unhealthy lifestyle
throughout adulthood with 44% of the industry respondents citing this as a very
important factor.
 The prevalence of diabetes is rising rapidly, up from 30 million globally in 1985 to a
forecast 300 million in 2005. This reflects growth of the ageing population, adoption
of unhealthy diets, obesity and sedentary lifestyles.

 Breakfast is highlighted as a crucial meal for diabetics and as a result, a number of
products such as jam and marmalades have been launched to cater for this market.
 Manufacturers and retailers have a responsibility to inform consumers about what
they are eating and drinking, this can be anything from how much sugar and fat the
product contains to the glycaemic index.
 Despite the high level of interest in new diet concepts such as Atkins, nearly 60% of
UK consumers surveyed had tried a low fat/low calorie diet.
 The Glycaemic Index diet (the GI diet) is expected to increase in popularity over the
next five years with a predicted growth of 18% in terms of ‘high profitability’.
 The varying degree of food scares however does mean that some situations remain
at the back of consumers’ minds more than others and nearly a quarter of
respondents stated that food scares do have a long-term negative impact.
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 The industry appears to be quite uncertain as to the future of GM foods – the mixed
message is being translated to the consumers.
Profitability hotspots and innovation opportunities
 90% of industry executives believe functional food and drinks are likely to be highly
or fairly profitable over the next five years.
 One out of every 10 persons is now 60 years or above; by 2050, one out of five will
be 60 years or older; and by 2150, one out of three persons will be 60 years or older.
 Glico Dairy Products in Japan has introduced a new yoghurt that meets the demands
of consumers seeking both healthy and indulgent foods. The company has
introduced a probiotic yogurt with bifidobacterium, made with whole blueberries (a
source of antioxidants), plus five fruit juices (lemon, apple, raspberry, grapefruit and
passion fruit), finished off with white rum.
 ‘Low carb’ is the most profitable hotspot at present with 42% of industry executives
believing it to be ‘highly profitable’ and 37% citing it as ‘profitable’.

 While low carb is currently regarded as the number one profitability hotspot it is
extremely interesting to note that this trend is not expected to continue with such
high levels of success.
 Kids remain the focus in the food and drinks industry – even when it comes to
healthy food and drinks. The ultimate new product for kids would be healthy, loved
by both parents and children and eaten as much as a chocolate bar or packet of
crisps.
 In Denmark, Kellogg’s cereals have been under fire, followed by a ban of 12 new
cereals and six energy bars. The Danish Veterinary and Food Administration
(DVFA) rejected the products on the grounds that the levels of iron, calcium,
vitamin B6 and folic acid were too high.
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New product development
 All major supermarkets now have their own healthy eating ranges offering
everything from ready meals to biscuits, however, Sainsbury’s is the outstanding
leader according to the UK consumers surveyed for this report.
 Of the selected healthy drink products, functional drinks in general are perceived as
being the most successful for the next five years, this is closely followed by energy
drinks which were viewed by 21% of respondents are ‘very successful’ and an
extremely significant 53% think it will be ‘successful’.
 Lessons can be learned from Asia Pacific, particularly Japan, which is the most
advanced market in terms of consumer usage and acceptance of functional food and
drinks. For example, Japan’s Snow Brand Milk Products announced in September
2004 that it would shortly announce findings on research that it says will lead to
more functional foods that could provide the same powerful benefits as mother’s
milk.
 The personal care market has long recognised the profit potential of targeting senior

consumers; with an ageing population comes a natural desire to prevent the ageing
process, however, it is only recently that the food and drinks industry has started to
recognise this potential and begun to promote the anti-ageing properties of specific
products.
 Omega-3 fatty acids are a form of polyunsaturated fats, one of four basic types of fat
that the body derives from food. All polyunsaturated fats, including the omega-3s,
are increasingly recognised as important to human health.
 Not all anti-ageing products have to be ‘super-foods’ that are enhanced with new
ingredients and technology. Fresh fruit and vegetables contain many of the
antioxidants, vitamins and minerals that are essential for a healthy balanced (anti-
ageing) diet.
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Conclusions and profit opportunities by market
category
 Making health claims can be a legal minefield, with differing rules in different
countries, but highlighting that products contain specific ingredients will be helpful
to consumers who are already increasingly building the knowledge of which
ingredients are linked to which concerns and push your product to the front of their
shopping list.
 Dairy foods containing health-promoting bacteria are an important segment of the
functional foods market. Wide ranges of health benefits have been attributed to
specific strains of lactic acid bacteria (e.g., Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus) or foods
containing these probiotic cultures.
 Consumers are often more attracted to the idea of supplementing their diet naturally
than through nutraceuticals and chemically enhanced products/supplements.
 Making health claims when promoting alcohol is a controversial and often ill-advised
step for alcoholic drinks companies. In the United States, wine labels promoting

health benefits of moderate wine drinking met strong opposition.
 39% of industry executives believe that gluten-free products will be very
successful/successful over the next five years compared to 32% for wheat-free
products.
 Gluten-free diets are not the same as wheat-free diets as consumers on a wheat-free
diet can safely include other cereals in their diet, only excluding wheat. However,
anyone on a gluten-free diet must avoid all gluten in wheat, barley, rye and oats.
 Premium canned food may seem like an oxymoron to many people but there is
potential for this market to develop with careful consideration of ingredients,
flavourings and ‘added’ value such as added vitamins and minerals.
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Chapter 1
Introduction to the Report
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Chapter 1 Introduction to the Report
Aim of the report
The aim of this report is to investigate the opinions of food and drinks executives with
regards to some of the major issues influencing the industry across the UK, Europe,
Asia and the United States. This investigation will help food and drink industry
executives understand some of the many, complex reasons why consumers purchase

specific products and identifies future concerns and issues that are expected to influence
their purchasing and eating habits – being aware of the potential future consumer trends
and concerns will not only enhance NPD success but also assist in targeted, intelligent
marketing and advertising plans.
Health is a ‘glocal’ concern - while many food and drinks issues and regulations remain
local, health continues to be a global worry. Consumers want to live longer, healthier
and happier and often turn to food and drink products for the answers. Consumers are
increasingly refer to nutrition instead of, or as well as, medicine in an attempt to prevent
and cure a range of illnesses and ailments from allergies and skin disorders to diabetes.
Food and drinks manufacturers are strongly advised to take heed of this growing
consumer interest in nutrition and enhance this by promoting the product’s health
benefits where possible.
Consumers are aware of the influence of what they eat and that it makes a big difference
to energy levels, mood and self-esteem. However, the notion that food and drink is
positive rather than negative, fattening, unhealthy or expensive is still not fully
understood by consumers or the industry itself. When we choose foods rich in protective
factors such as fruits and vegetables we are also doing something positive for our health
and wellbeing – this positive image can be portrayed through the ‘4 P’s’ of marketing to
encourage new customers and customer loyalty.
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Understanding consumers’ health concerns and the relationship between nutrition and
purchasing habits unlocks the door to new profit opportunities and growth strategies.
Consumers are becoming increasingly self-aware and self-medicating. More and more
people understand the effects of probiotics, the health benefits associated with a meat-
reduction diet and the role of antioxidants in ageing and skincare. The industry needs to
not only keep up with consumers’ requirements and education but also help continue
this positive relationship with food and drinks through new product development,

marketing, promotions, distribution and sourcing. This report will help industry
executives work with consumers more effectively and open new revenue streams to all
companies whether they are involved in the healthy eating and drinking arena or not.
In order to produce this report, a number of industry opinion surveys were conducted
throughout 2004 to gain access to the highly influential opinions of your peers and
competitors.
Overall, 4,000 senior industry executives were surveyed and more than 1,250
respondents contributed to the findings of this report. Around 30% of respondents were
based in the UK, 30% in Europe, 30% from the United States and 10% from Asia
Pacific. The respondents all hold senior level executive positions within the food and
drinks industry ranging from Managing Director to Marketing Manager and NPD
Directors.
 The ‘Consumer Concerns and Healthy Issues’ industry opinion survey attracted
responses from 255 senior food and drinks industry executives from around the
globe and was conducted in July 2004;
 the ‘Future Innovations in Food and Drinks’ industry opinion survey attracted
responses from 323 industry executives and was conducted in June 2004;
 the ‘Healthy and Diet Food and Drinks’ consumer survey attracted 159 responses
from consumers in the UK and was conducted in April 2004;
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 the ‘Health Issues: Low Carbohydrate Diets, Obesity’ industry opinion survey
attracted responses from 519 industry executives and was conducted in March 2004.
This report aims to quantify the future potential profitability hotspots, new product
development options and marketing streams based on a firm understanding of the major
consumer health concerns influencing purchasing decisions and eating habits.
Identifying the main health-related issues influencing the food and drinks
industry at present

There are clearly more health-related issues that consumers could be concerned about
than there is space for in one report, however, 11 major concerns have been identified
that have an effect on varying sectors of the population. This report will address the
following with a strong focus on the first eight:
 Diabetes;
 obesity, overweight and associated dietary issues;
 skincare;
 anti-ageing;
 heart disease;
 cancer;
 allergies;
 wellbeing;
 mental health – stress;
 mental health – depression;
 pre and antenatal care;
 bone health;
 eating disorders such as anorexia bulimia.
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The three most important consumer concerns with a view to the potential future impact
on food and drink development are obesity, heart disease and cancer. Globally, the
increasing weight of the population is the ‘hot’ issue at present, fuelled by the media
interest, particularly in light of the rising numbers of obese children. 77% of industry
executives believe obesity to be highly important in terms of the future development of
the food and drinks world.
The order of importance is demonstrated in the following table, with obesity being
classified as the most important and influential compared to just 11% of respondents
regarding skincare as highly important.

Table 1.1: Rating the importance of the influence of 11 consumer concerns
on the development of the food and drinks industry
Highly important Important Quite important Not important
1. Obesity 77% 16% 6% 1%
2. Heart disease 61% 31% 6% 1%
3. Cancer 47% 35% 13% 5%
4. Diabetes 45% 39% 12% 4%
5. Anti-ageing 27% 36% 26% 10%
6. Bone health 22% 51% 18% 9%
7. Pre and antenatal care 19% 33% 39% 9%
8. Mental health – stress 19% 37% 30% 13%
9. Eating disorders –
anorexia bulimia etc 15% 37% 25% 22%
10. Mental health – depression13% 33% 34% 19%
11. Skincare 11% 38% 34% 16%
*Rated in order of ‘highly important’ scores
Source: Consumer concerns and healthy issues industry opinion survey, August 2004 Business Insights
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Figure 1.1: Highly important consumer concerns with a view to the potential
future impact on food and drink development
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Source: Consumer concerns and healthy issues industry opinion survey, August 2004 Business Insights
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Chapter 2
Identifying Consumers’ Health
Concerns
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Chapter 2 Identifying Consumers’
Health Concerns
Summary
 Many food and drinks companies can work to offer another option to people who
are overweight or obese by clearer labelling, healthier ingredients and intelligent
marketing and promotions.
 An unhealthy diet as a child often results in a permanently unhealthy lifestyle
throughout adulthood with 44% of the industry respondents citing this as a very
important factor.
 The prevalence of diabetes is rising rapidly, up from 30 million globally in 1985 to
a forecast 300 million in 2005. This reflects growth of the ageing population,

adoption of unhealthy diets, obesity and sedentary lifestyles.
 Breakfast is highlighted as a crucial meal for diabetics and as a result, a number of
products such as jams and marmalades have been launched and are now well
established to cater for this market.
 Manufacturers and retailers have a responsibility to inform consumers about what
they are eating and drinking, this can be anything from how much sugar and fat the
product contains to the glycaemic index.
 Despite the high level of interest in new diet concepts such as Atkins, nearly 60%
of UK consumers surveyed had tried a more traditional low fat/low calorie diet.
 The Glycaemic Index diet (the GI diet) is expected to increase in popularity over
the next five years with a predicted growth of 18% in terms of ‘high profitability’.
 The varying degree of food scares means that some situations remain at the back
of consumers’ minds more than others and nearly a quarter of respondents stated
that food scares do have a long-term negative impact.
 The industry appears to be quite uncertain as to the future of GM foods – this
mixed message is being translated to the consumers.
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Introduction
This chapter considers some of the primary consumer health concerns from a food and
drinks manufacturer, retailer and supplier perspective: obesity, diabetes, dieting (with a
focus on the glycaemic index diet), exercise – or rather the lack of exercise, food scares
and genetically modified food.
Obesity
A definition
Overweight refers to increased body weight in relation to height, when compared to
some standard of acceptable or desirable weight. Obesity is defined as an excessively
high amount of body fat or adipose tissue in relation to lean body mass.

Generally, men who have more than 25% body fat and women with more than 35%
body fat are considered obese. Fat distribution in these individuals usually takes two
forms: central abdominal or android obesity (apple shaped figures) and gluteofemoral or
gynoid obesity (pear shaped figures). ‘Apples’ (typical of men) can be distinguished
from ‘pears’ (typical of women) by calculating a waist-to-hip ratio (WHR). A WHR of
0.8 or lower is usually found in women and a WHR of 0.85 or higher is usually found in
men. A waist circumference that exceeds 102 cm (40 inches) in men or 97 cm (38
inches) in women is sometimes considered to be android obesity, but this has little
significance, as it does not take into account an individual’s height or bone structure.
Additionally, the distribution as well as amount of fat has other health implications:
central abdominal fat is the major contributor to insulin resistance and risk of diabetes,
hypertension and cardiovascular disease.
The health consequences of obesity range from day-to-day non-fatal complaints such as
respiratory difficulties, skin problems and infertility to those promoting premature death
such as diabetes, cardiovascular problems and certain cancers. Obesity is a major
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consumer concern with the quality of life being threatened due to social stigma,
difficulty in getting employment and an associated lack of confidence.
The unhealthy facts
 An estimated 61% of U.S. adults are either overweight or obese. The proportion of
children and adolescents in the United States who are overweight has more than
doubled since the early 1970s, with about 13% being seriously overweight;
 the prevalence of obesity has increased by about 10% to 40% in the majority of
European countries over the last decade
i
;
 in the UK alone, a quarter of men and one-fifth of women are considered to be

obese according to figures released by the Food Standards Agency and the
Department of Health;
 in Germany, 17.2% of men and 19.3% of women are classified as obese, with 19%
of Finnish men and women also obese. Interestingly, while 27.9% of Russian women
are obese, only 10.8% of men there are
ii
;
 countries with lower obesity rates include France (9.6% of men, 10.5% of women),
the Netherlands (8.4% of men, 8.3% women) and Italy (6.5% of men, 6.3% of
women);
 short-term treatment of obesity with pharmaceutical drugs is seldom warranted
because obesity is a chronic condition that requires long-term treatment. Only three
drugs are currently available: phentermine, a short-term therapy, and orlistat and
sibutramine, both suitable for long-term treatment. This explains the current drive


i
American Obesity Association (AOB)
ii
International Obesity Task Force
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towards ‘healthy eating’ and diet plans for people who are overweight and obese
and want to see quick results such as the Atkins Diet;
 the current obesity healthcare market is worth just less than $800 million and has the
potential to expand to around $1.6 billion by 2010. Expansion will primarily be
driven by the reimbursement and wider availability of anti-obesity therapies, based
on the growing realisation that treatment leads to a reduction in expensive co-

morbidities and mortality;
 an example of a drug used to combat obesity is Abbott’s Reductil, which began to
experience problems in 2002 when regulatory authorities and consumer groups
voiced concerns over the product’s safety. However, sales continued to grow,
reaching $272 million in 2002;
 several investigational approaches to weight loss are being examined in clinical trials,
ranging from the creation of new appetite suppressants to agents that act as fat
blockers and drugs that hasten burning of stored body fat. A considerable amount of
research is being expended on 3-agonists, which expedite energy burning without
additional physical exertion;
 many food and drinks companies can offer another option to people who are
overweight or obese by clearer labelling, healthier ingredients and intelligent
marketing and promotions.
Nutritional influence
Excessive dietary fat intake has been implicated in the root cause of obesity for decades.
However, this only represents one factor in the complex nature of the condition.
Weight-for-weight, fat provides more energy than carbohydrate or protein. It may
contribute to obesity independently of its role in energy balance, it can influence food
intake, energy metabolism and substrate oxidation, and it has a weak satiety effect.
A nutritional study compared fat intake of normal weight, moderately obese and
severely obese people and found that those in the moderately and severely obese groups
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