What the food industry does not want you to know

In the last years, it has been established that the food industry and their advertisements have played a role in the current obesity epidemic, urging us to excessive consumption of all kinds of products low in nutrition and high in calories, to turn people into programmed consumers. But today, people care about the calories, and weight, so the food industry now offers various options, free of calories, and makes healthy food campaigns. Despite these strategies, we must ask how effective are the measures that the food industry has taken to combat obesity?

Although apparently the food industry takes steps in the right direction with the launch of campaigns to bring healthy products in schools for example, health initiatives are just marketing tactics; the problem is that the food industry does not want us to eat less, but more.

Junk food to children

Junk food makers spend billions advertising unhealthy foods to children. It is to reach children through the traditional media, on the Internet, in stores advertising and sweepstakes. Most of these ads are for unhealthy products high in calories, sugar, fat and sodium. Promotions often use cartoon characters or free giveaways to attract children to junk food. On only TV, the average child sees about 15 junk food ads a day, announcing from sugary cereals for breakfast, fast food, to drinks, sweets and snacks. Compare that to the less than 100 television commercials a child sees a year for healthy foods like fruits, vegetables, and bottled water.

Minimize adverse effects

Producers tend to minimize the health problems associated with their products. If a study is funded by the industry, may be closer to advertising than real science.

More processes, less gain for us

Minimally processed foods such as fruits and vegetables, obviously are not where food companies look for profits. Large sums of money are found in processed foods and junk food. However, these products are usually high in calories and low in nutritional value.

Natural foods are more satisfying than processed

Fresh apples have an abundance of fiber and nutrients that are lost when processed into applesauce. And the added sugar or other sweeteners increase the number of calories, sometimes without adding natural fruit is the same with the white bread, refined make, has much less fiber and nutrients compared to milled wheat bread to stone.

Labels such as marketing

A health claim on the label doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s a healthy food. Health claims such as "zero trans fats" or "contains whole wheat" may create the false impression that a product is healthy when it is not. While the statements may be true, a product is not going to benefit the health of your children if you are loaded with salt, sugar and saturated fats if there isn’t any fiber or other nutrients. These claims are calorie distracters, because they make people forget the calories.

It is very common that the products put pictures of fruit or grain, on the label, making us think we are done with that product, but often, their ingredients are far from fruits or natural foods, as concentrates or corn syrup, so importantly, check the ingredients and not give in to marketing.

The food industry manipulates the nutritional information

If the recommendation is to reduce the meat we eat, the food industry will found seek ways to take care of your health by suggesting a blurred message, to be sure to eat their food, in this case, they use a scoop as "choose meats, poultry and fish that will reduce saturated fat intake" So promote health, undeclared, you must consume fewer products.

The food industry works aggressively to discredit its critics

And you can get it in various ways, whether an investigation threatens their product, they make a determination to "show off" their product healthier, or sponsoring research to show that they are wrong. Whatever the issue, the food industry is not willing to lose revenue.

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