U.S. Ad Blitz Dismisses Obesity Threat as 'Hype'

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U.S. Ad Blitz Dismisses Obesity Threat as 'Hype'

 

Mon Apr 25, 5:37 PM ET

 

By Nichola Groom

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A group backed by the U.S. food and restaurant

industries on Monday launched an advertising campaign aimed at dismissing as

hype concerns about the large number of obese Americans.

 

The full-page ads in major U.S. newspapers were inspired by new government data

questioning government assertions that obesity causes nearly as many deaths as

smoking, according to the Center for Consumer Freedom, which paid for the ads.

 

The group, based in Washington, does not disclose names of its donors, though

spokesman Mike Burita said casual dining restaurant chains " are predominant

sources of funding for us. "

 

A spokesman for Darden Restaurants Inc., the nation's largest casual dining

company and owner of the Red Lobster and Olive Garden chains, could not say

whether Darden was among contributors to the group.

 

Applebee's International Inc., another major casual dining chain, also could not

say whether it contributes to the group, a spokeswoman said.

 

The group spent about $600,000 on the ads, which appeared on Monday in the New

York Times, Washington Post, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, USA Today and the

Chicago Tribune. Ads are also to run in Newsweek magazine and on billboards in

the Washington-area metro system.

 

The campaign, Burita said, was sparked by new statistics from the National

Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), a unit of the Center for Disease Control

and Prevention (CDC), that contradict previous findings from the CDC that

obesity was catching up to heart disease as a major cause of death in the United

States.

 

The CDC has said that smoking kills 435,000 Americans a year and that obesity

kills close to 400,000 annually. But the NCHS report issued last week cuts that

number by 75 percent.

 

Since it was published last year, the CDC's 400,000 figure has been cited in

media reports regarding the impact of obesity on everything from healthcare

costs to diets.

 

At the same time, U.S. food and restaurant companies have faced increased

criticism from health and nutrition advocates who blame foods high in fat and

sugar for contributing to what critics have called a nationwide obesity

epidemic.

 

The Center for Consumer Freedom hopes the ads will capture the attention of

lawmakers and the CDC.

 

" We're putting pressure on the leadership of the CDC, who has still not endorsed

this new figure, " Burita said.

 

CDC spokesman Tom Skinner, who said he has seen the ad, said the CDC was not

wrong a year ago.

 

" All the science around computing mortality associated with obesity is still

evolving. If you look at the papers and try to compare them, you really can't do

that, " Skinner said.

 

He said it was more important to look at obesity-associated illness and

disability. " It is a well-known fact that obesity is also contributing to other

well-known leading causes of death including cancer and diabetes, " Skinner said.

 

Burita said his group wants some perspective. " Obesity is certainly a genuine

problem. But when genuine problems become political issues they tend to become

exaggerated, as this has, " he said. (Additional reporting by Maggie Fox in

Washington)

 

 

 

 

 

 

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