Food companies push healthy-living plans

The food industry is helping promote -- and even fund -- campaigns on healthy eating and exercise. The reviews are mixed.

By Victoria Stagg Elliott, AMNews staff. Aug. 4, 2003.

Walk more. Eat less.

Public health officials have long wished for public-private partnerships to help them get out the message key to making a dent in the obesity epidemic. Lately, this wish is being answered with involvement from the very companies sometimes blamed for contributing to the problem.

In June, McDonald's announced that it would expand "Step with It!" -- a program created by the Coca-Cola Co. last year that encourages walking. More recently, PepsiCo Inc. and MasterfoodsUSA helped launch "America on the Move," a program that encourages people to walk an extra mile a day or cut 100 calories a day from their diets.

"We've got programs for schools, for families, for physicians," said James Hill, PhD, America on the Move founder and director of the Center for Human Nutrition at the University of Colorado in Denver. "We want to get the simple message out in a lot of ways that are tailored toward different groups. I don't know how to solve the obesity problem, but this is a way to get started."

Public health advocates cheered.

"We welcome America on the Move and the growing number of organizations who are getting behind our campaign to increase physical activity and promote healthier diets," said Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson. "We know that exercise and diet are effective tools in the battle of the bulge. What we need to do now is urge Americans to get up off the couch, step outdoors onto sidewalk, parks and trails. America on the Move is a step and bite in the right direction."