Obesity and Soda.

A study by UAB was released today saying that there is no direct correlation between consumption of sugary drinks and obesity.

Anyone out there surprised?

It does appear that we as a society have sought a one-size-fits-all approach to nutrition - and weight loss. From the food pyramid to the Atkins diet, we seek a single over-arching philosophy that will our stomachs to satiety and our bodies to six-packs and thin waists.

But these approaches seem extreme and simplistic. In reality the personal genes and metabolism of each individual hold the keys to a healthy diet. Right now we get to our ideal state by trial and error experimentation. But it is likely that within a few years, a simple assessment of an individual's DNA will be all that is needed.

So no decisive link between sugar and obesity. The tax lobby loses a key argument... And the rest of us have to continue to look for our own nutritional answers elsewhere.

The Worst 20

 1 Sierra Nevada Bigfoot = 1 case of Michelob Ultra

Always love a good "worst" list: here are the top (or should that be bottom?) 20 most harmful beverages in the USA.

Enjoy...

More positives for Caffeine

And more negatives for sugar...

Interesting new study from LSU says that it is the sugar in soft drinks that is bad for you - and increases risk of heart disease. The caffeine is OK.

“Sugar may actually be the nutrient that is associated with blood pressure and not caffeine which many people would suspect.” - Liwei Chen, Assistant professor of Public Health LSU.

Supermarket Segmentation

It has been said that the days of the consumer segmentation have gone, but when you find one, it is always interesting. The folks at Supermarket News have just published their own view of the supermarket shopping world. Its a nice topline view, but it would be better to understand the relative importance of each group.

See my slideshare account for a hard copy of the full document.

Trying to Be All Things...

The KFC Double Down... targeting young men...

The KFC Double Down has been in test for a year, and chain wide availability for a few weeks. The sandwich which replaces the bread with 2 chicken breasts was designed to appeal to a young male demo that the franchise was losing.

The issue is that KC has been attempting to reposition itself as a healthier alternative, using KFC Grilled as its monicker.

Result of the intro/exposure of doubledown - according to NRN - confusion in consumer's minds... And a position of weakness for the healthier rebranding.

Food Inflation... The Next Big Issue?

undoubtedly there is a feel good factor around right now. The stories in the media are less negative, and the stock market is up. But the spectre of inflation, absent so far in the economy, may be emerging.

This press release from the National Inflation Association is very bearish...

"Some of the startling food price increases on a year-over-year basis include, fresh and dry vegetables up 56.1%, fresh fruits and melons up 28.8%, eggs for fresh use up 33.6%, pork up 19.1%, beef and veal up 10.7% and dairy products up 9.7%. On October 30th, 2009, NIA predicted that inflation would appear next in food and agriculture, but we never anticipated that it would spiral so far out of control this quickly."

And "The U.S. government is now paying out more to Americans in benefits than it collects in taxes".

I have no idea whether this data is true, but certainly it points to some big structural issues in the recovery.

The First Political Test For Energy Drinks

I get a lot of questions along the lines of "when do you think the government will start regulating energy drinks?".

My response is normally "Never - because it would require them to regulate coffee too."

In Louisiana, a representative put a bill into legislative committee that would ban the sale of energy drinks to under 16's. As ever energy drinks were called "speed in a can". The committee did not proceed with the bill precisely because it would unfairly discriminate against one source of caffeine Vs another.

See the story here.