Editorial

Citation

McAuley, A. (2012), "Editorial", Journal of Social Marketing, Vol. 2 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/jsocm.2012.51102aaa.001

Editorial

Article Type: Editorial From: Journal of Social Marketing, Volume 2, Issue 1

In these days of web-based communications we all, from time to time, are exposed to invitations, offers and the like that leave us all a bit puzzled as to how we managed to get onto a particular list. In most cases a summary strike of the delete key is enough to get the inbox back under control. However, I recently received just such an e-mail which invited me to join a webinar which was focused on obesity drugs under development by the big pharmaceutical companies. I was promised an interactive and thought-provoking discussion in the development of such drugs. It did get me thinking, but perhaps not in the way the facilitators of the event would have guessed or hoped!

It does not take much time to work out that the drug companies are seeing, and forgive the pun, a growing market in obesity-related products. Last week I read on the BBC News (2011) web site that residents in my former location of Scotland are getting fatter! The report suggested that 27 per cent of Scots between 16 and 64 were obese in 2010. This figure had increased from 17 per cent in 1995. Men were in a worse state than women. The final dire warning was that this figure could reach 40 per cent by 2030, if we do nothing. A Scottish government spokesman said:

“Our action plan published earlier this year sets out actions being taken to change the environment in which we live to make it easier for everyone to make healthy choices, including eating more fruit and vegetables and less salt, fat and added sugar and becoming more active”.

He continued “We have introduced a range of measures to improve diet and are spending over £7.5m in the next three years on projects to encourage healthy eating.” The spokesman added: “As part of this we are working closely with the food industry, including manufacturers, retailers and the hospitality sector to reduce the saturated fat content of products and build on the positive steps they have been making over the last few years on the promotion of healthier, less energy dense food”.

Now generally speaking the Scots have long been famous for their sweet tooth and I recall once hearing that Glasgow was a favourite test market for new sweets and all things sugary. However, as we well know they are not the only ones. Around the corner from where I live in Brisbane there is a fish and chip shop which has on its menu the rare Scottish delicacy, a deep-fried Mars bar! While not suggesting for a minute that this is the sole root of obesity in Australia the statistics in this country are staggering, especially for a country whose relationship with sport and the outdoor lifestyle is so much a part of its global image. Some 4 million Australians are reported to be obese. If current patterns of weight gain continue it is forecast that by 2020 80 per cent of adults and one-third of children will be overweight or obese. Obesity was reported in 2010 to be causing more illness and pre mature death than smoking in Australia (MODI, 2011).

Globally the World Health Organization (WHO) suggests that 1 billion adults are overweight and 400 million of these are obese – defined as a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 30 or more. The WHO estimated that by 2015 some 2.3 billion people will be overweight – defined as a BMI between 25 and 29.9. Many of the nations where obesity is a problem are the Pacific Islands while Mexico is the leading industrialized country with the USA next in line, closely followed, if slightly out of breath, by New Zealand, Australia, the UK, Canada and Ireland (Rampell, 2010). The USA and Scotland tie for the dubious honour of having the fattest children. This is not good. Life expectancy in some cases is declining. Our “affluenza” is killing us and our children.

All of this extra fat we carry around contributes to associated health risk including diabetes, disability, poor quality of life and premature death. Those people who are obese risk heart disease, high blood pressure and strokes and even some forms of cancer.

A severe part of the problem is that we do not adjust our food intake to suit our lifestyles. When people move from the countryside to the city their caloric needs drops. It drops also when our jobs become increasingly computerized and sedentary. Have we adjusted our intake? In all likelihood no; and so the consequences become all too obvious. In addition it is harder, it seems, to shake off the calories than to put them on. I observed recently that 20 minutes of cycling was not enough to burn-off the calories in a pint of my favourite Irish stout. More like 35 minutes would be needed to deal with just one pint!

There is also an issue of all things fat becoming normalized, after all the statistics show us that it is all around us. We get used to seeing overweight people. There is apparently a “Miss Fat Woman” competition in Italy in its 21st year. Skinny people now stand out from the crowd as being different. In the last year or two I have heard, as I am sure you will have, of hospital beds having to be reinforced to cope with extra heavy patients; ovens at crematoriums are having to be increased in size to deal with oversize coffins and their oversize contents. Some retailers at times play with sizing, adjusting the scale to match our growing waistlines. Retail chains specifically cater for the larger customer – do not mention the f-word. There is an American TV show airing in Australia currently called Mike and Molly in which the main characters are, frankly, obese. Such normalization cannot be good as a role model. Many of us will have experienced the unpleasantness of sitting next to a severely overweight person on a flight where the traditional game of elbow hockey is impossible to play as the “pitch” has disappeared under the results of “affluenza”. Perhaps it is time to buy two seats, or for the airlines to think about the injustice of charging a person of normal weight for excess luggage, while an obese passenger is tolerated. Time for weigh-ins at check-in for passengers and their luggage!

Comments on various web sites are insightful too. As you would expect there are a range of views from “Get off the couch people, and cook your own food. Problem solved” and “Like drug addiction being extremely overweight is a self-inflicted wound” to “It’s not the fault of fat people. They can’t help it. Their genetics have evolved over the last century, making it impossible for them not to become obese.”

So then, am I thinking we should welcome the drug companies getting into product development for obesity? Bar those people for whom there is a proven medical condition for whom drugs offer the only hope, I am thinking a resounding “No”. We must not allow being fat, overweight or obese to become a condition, something beyond individual control. Too often self-inflicted or solvable problems are termed a condition which seems to invariably allow the individual to abdicate any responsibility for the problem. They blame the condition and expect society to adjust around them and their behavior. This is not good enough. We know that as individuals we have to limit our food intake, take exercise, and think about our own health and its impact on those we love and actually take control and do something about it. It is difficult, there are so many temptations often readily available, but we can make better choices.

The WHO (2011) is clear that being overweight or obese, as well as the related noncommunicable diseases, are largely preventable. Supportive environments and communities are fundamental in shaping people’s choices, making the healthier choice of foods and regular physical activity the easiest choice, and therefore preventing obesity.

Individuals can increase their consumption of fruit and vegetables, as well as legumes, whole grains and nuts; reduce the fats and sugars they consume. Exercise can be increased with the aim of achieving an energy balance and a healthy weight (see Sarah Leonard, Fiona Spotswood and Alan Tapp who consider barriers to cycling in this issue).

Those in political control can help shape policies while working with not-for-profit groups which support individuals in following healthy eating habits. Simone Pettigrew and Melanie Pescud examine eating practices in this issue while Ann-Marie Kennedy and Andrew Parsons consider the role of government in social marketing. Improving access to and the affordability of physical activity and appropriate foodstuffs, especially to those less well off, is an important part of achieving change. Let’s ensure children have the best start and introduce the benefits of exercise as appropriate to their age while at school. Such habits will probably stand them in good stead for later in life even if they drift from regular exercise at some stage.

The food industry in some countries is already working to improve its reputation but much more can be done to reduce fat, sugar and salt in processed foods as well as making labeling clearer and simpler to understand. Marketing should be responsible in the claims it makes. We need to broaden the social marketing base. Jane McKay-Nesbitt, Carol W. DeMoranville and Dan McNally demonstrate how social marketing can be embedded into Introductory Marketing courses.

Employers can assist by providing healthy choices in their food outlets, making water readily available on office floors as well as having fruit and healthy snacks to hand. Corporate days focused on exercise and healthy living can also provide reinforcement.

Even the not-for-profits have lessons to learn. I find it ironic that a charity trying to raise money for cancer research does so by leaving trays of chocolate and crisps/chips in return for donations in the workplace.

Finally, there is much that can be done and social marketing has a huge potential to improve our chances of success in this area with substantial economic and social benefits for individuals and the societies in which they live. This journal will no doubt have the opportunity to reflect academic work in this area over time. It is crucial that obesity, for the masses, is not taken over by the drug companies as yet another human condition to be treated with chemicals.

Andrew McAuley