Snack attack has fat chance

YORK'S world famous Chocolate Orange might soon be a few segments short of a whole fruit. The spherical treat, much beloved of Dawn French and other chocoholics, is still made at the Terry's factory on Bishopthorpe Road, but it is owned by the Kraft Foods corporation.

Kraft, the world's second biggest food manufacturer, is suddenly looking to slim down. It does not want to shed the profit pounds or market share, but wants to reduce the portion size of its products.

The US-based company, itself owned by tobacco giant Philip Morris, announced this week that it is to cut back on the size, fat and sugar content of most of its famous lines.

This portfolio includes such triangular delicacies as Dairylea cheese spread and Toblerone, plus Bird's Trifle and the legendary Terry's Chocolate Orange. All have been favourites with generations of consumers. But are they also killers?

Kraft fears they might be. Its bosses say they are looking to reduce sugar and fat for the health and welfare of us all.

Spokesman Michael Mudd made things crystal clear with his statement. "First and foremost, why we are doing it, is that it is the right thing to do," he said. Corporate benevolence on this scale has not been seen since Joseph Rowntree introduced the first pension scheme for his workers.

However, Kraft has another, more selfish reason. Overweight Americans, as litigious as their lighter compatriots, have been wobbling to court in ever larger numbers demanding compensation from food companies for making them obese/giving them heart problems/strokes/cancer.

As Mr Mudd says - purely as an afterthought you understand - if Kraft's new smaller portion policy "also discourages a plaintiff's lawyer or unfair legislation, that's just fine with us".

Cynics will sneer that if people go about filling their faces with chocolate bars and dairy spreads, the resulting health problems are very much their own fault.

That's not entirely fair. It is tricky in our fast paced, fast shop, fast-food world to keep an eye on the dodgy ingredients of every ready meal we bung in the microwave. If legal action helps the major food corporations to shape up, then we all might benefit.

Kraft's action comes on the back of mounting concern about mountainous people. Obesity levels have never been higher. The World Health Organisation estimates that more than one billion people on earth are now overweight, with 300 million clinically obese.

In Britain we have always enjoyed a self-satisfied smile at the larger-than-life Americans, but soon that could be wiped off our fat faces. British rates of obesity are catching up with those Stateside. One in five British men are now considered obese, whereas three in ten American adults have the same problem.

The trend does not surprise Sarah Lomax, senior dietician at York Hospital. Obesity levels are expanding before her eyes.

"We have definitely had a big increase," she said. "Most of our general medical clinics have a majority of people who are overweight. We also see other people with allergies and other eating disorders, but it's becoming a big majority of overweight people."

She said the problems associated with being too heavy are numerous. "It contributes to so many things. It puts pressure on your heart, it puts your blood pressure up, it means you have more of a risk of chronic diseases such as arthritis and diabetes."

Treatment of the latter is one of her fields of expertise. "I work a lot with diabetics. It's becoming quite a problem."

She believes that processed food, particularly ready meals, are exacerbating the problem. "A lot of the ready meals do have high fat and particularly salt content. There's been a big Government drive to get salt intake down across the UK. A lot of it is to do with taste. They taste nicer with a lot of sugar, fat and salt in them."

So what does she think of the Kraft Foods initiative?

"Reducing the portion size may help a bit. But some of the portion sizes are smaller than most people would usually eat anyway. Would people buy two? I don't know."

In terms of chocolate at least, a size reduction goes against the trend. Nestl Rowntree's Chunky KitKat, and the king size Mars Bar are among the bigger snacks which have been marketed so successfully - to the dismay of health campaigners.

Sarah said people do not take into account the bigger sizes. "You eat the whole lot. You don't tend to eat half a Mars Bar. What's happening is the portion size goes up, the calorie intake goes up and the fat intake goes up."

Health education is crucial. These days there is a lot of information on food labels, listing not only the ingredients but the fat and salt content. But Sarah believes more clarity is needed.

"Food labelling is a huge problem. People don't understand what's on food labels or how to interpret the information. It would be great if people had more education on using the labels."

Some labels will carry information on the right calorific intake for an "average" person, but that is not helpful for the many non-average consumers. How can they make a judgement on what is right for them?

"You would have to see a health professional to help you work that out," said Sarah. "It would be particularly useful for anyone overweight and trying to find out how much you need in order to maintain your health."

In an ideal world, she said, everyone would prepare and cook their own meals without much salt and fat. But she realises that some people can't cook and others don't have the time.

So if you do rely on ready-made grub, her advice is simple. "Look for the pre-prepared meals that have calorie controls."

Fat facts

There are 300 million obese people in the world

In the USA, the number of overweight adolescents has trebled since 1980

In Britain over half of women, and about two thirds of men are either overweight or obese

The estimated cost to the country is 18 million sick days and 30,000 deaths a year, and 40,000 lost years of working life in England alone

Deaths linked to obesity shorten life by nine years on average

China and Japan's obesity levels are five per cent

In urban Samoa, obesity levels are 75 per cent

Am I obese?

Overweight and obesity are defined by the Body Mass Index, or BMI, which is a way of calculating weight, allowing for height.

To calculate your BMI, take your weight in kilograms divided by the square of your height in metres. A body mass index over 25 is defined as overweight, and over 30 is defined as obese

Sources: the World Health Organisation and UK Food Standards Agency

Updated: 11:36 Friday, July 04, 2003