Although Britain's obesity 'epidemic' is not just down to drinking, it does play a major part in increasing waist lines. It is reported in this article that obesity costs the NHS around £5 billion a year, including vital surgery and free vouchers to support groups such as Weight Watchers, that often people don't actually use. There are also talks from doctors about putting tax on sugary drinks and not being able to advertise unhealthy foods before the watershed. Are these really all the answers to this problem? The short answer: no. Will these elements even make the slightest change in consumer behaviours? The short answer: unlikely.
Being a member of Weight Watchers myself the first thing they discussed in the new year was that we live in a food overloaded environment and temptation is all around us- VERY true! I feel any agency with this brief of getting across this serious message and trying to change consumer behaviour is going to be one of the toughest challenges they'll ever face! Everyone can be shocked for a few minutes by a television ad or stop and think about it for a second but are they really going to change their behaviours; I would guess very few actually cut down on food/ booze/ smoking and so on due to these and similar advertisements. I also seriously doubt that putting the prices up will change anyone's attitude too- as heard on BBC Radio 1 today, interviews with members of the public all agreed that they would still buy these foods anyway regardless of price, mostly because it still wouldn't be any more expensive than healthier alternatives.
So, what is the actual issue here... that unhealthy food and drink are to blame for Britain's weight problem or is it that healthy food and ways of exercising aren't easily affordable and accessible for everyone in society?
I feel that in order to change someone's behaviour it will take a whole lot more than a couple of TV ads and a higher purchase price. So let's think about it... when do people mostly change their attitudes? Well as a really rough assumption I find the people in my life tend to change their behaviours when they experience something themselves or if someone they know goes through something bad that could have been avoided. But obviously there is the issue of once they experience it, it's too late to be avoided, it still costs the NHS money and sometimes nothing can be done to reverse the damage. So what if people were given a real life negative experience but from a 'safe distance' (the theory behind our Edcom campaign entry).
From my own experience, it takes a whole lot more than reading an interview with a doctor in a newspaper, to change someone's behaviour; as though it were that easy to change habits of a lifetime! To lose weight and live a healthy life and more importantly to want to achieve these things, takes inspiration and motivation. So why not inspire a nation- we had the perfect opportunity with the London 2012 Olympics but the fascination seems to have faded fast for most people.
Why not take a more hands on approach to tackling this problem, for example set up pop up shops in high streets, starting with parts of the UK that have a high obesity rate; go to these area's schools and colleges, and so on and show them physically what unhealthy eating can do to them if they don't change.
Make it interesting by turning it into an interactive event that doesn't talk down to people but encourages them to educate themselves by having:
- consultants giving free confidential advice,
- a free interactive healthy living quiz and show the results percentages on a large screen for all to see,
- goody bags with recipe cards, exercise regimes, money off a visit to the local gym and freebie healthy alternative foods- everyone loves something for nothing, even if they just take a goody bag from the event and nothing else it's a start!
- have hosts and staff that aren't size 6 or 8's- there is nothing worse than feeling like you don't match up and sometimes people give up before they even try; have real people showcasing realistic options for the public,
- mass dance and exercise classes to disperse that feeling of embarrassment and give the opportunity for local businesses to make their mark on the campaign and attract more customers,
- get a company sponsorship such as Weight Watchers and have their personalities make guest appearances and run Q&A sessions,
- have live cookery classes by television chefs or local restaurants on how to make healthy meals and hand out tasters...
- create games such as swapping unhealthy foods for healthy alternatives and highlight the benefits or get the public to guess which food package has the most calories/ fat content/ sugar content. Have a plastic organ system and swap unhealthy and healthy body parts for the kids and highlight how to make these changes possible....
Literally the possibilities for this are endless!
Also on the same note, I know exercise is free, technically speaking, but at home fitness methods aren't for everyone, sometimes people prefer to swim or do Zumba for example but can't afford it. Local councils could set up free exercise classes within the local community and recruit local community members to keep on running these; these could be a part of the 'Big Society' they are so keen to run and see take off?
From what I'm learning at university and from what I'm experiencing in life people like to be engaged and interactive and it's the best way to learn something important. To influence someone is to take a leaf from your own book and practice what you preach. If there is enough regular local encouragement to be an advocate of these opportunities, it is likely to make a greater impact on behaviours. There will never be a way of stopping the unhealthy food brands, for one there is too many of them and secondly they have to make money as well to survive too and it's unfair to take that away from them.
At the end of the day everyone has a choice, it just depends whether it's one that's a move in the right direction. I don't believe a single advertisement, tax increases or legal changes in advertising will make much of an impact on their own, but when teamed with something interactive and local to the people, it could have a much greater impact.
As always I'd love to hear your thoughts on this, please comment on this post.
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