Diet and Health Issues in the Hospitality Industry - Essay Example

Diet and health issues in the hospitality industry 2007 Introduction Though the notion of a healthy lifestyle presupposes physical activity, reduced consumption of alcohol, and abstinence from smoking, together with eating healthily, in this report we will concentrate on s healthy diet as one of the most important concerns of the government nowadays that influences the industries of hospitality and food serving. From the times immemorial, it has been known that nutrition and health are interrelated. One of the basic characteristics of food is its calories content. It is important to remember that our organisms only need as much energy as they spend in the process of living, and not more. There is a commonly acknowledged fact, however, that wrong nutrition is one of the main reasons for diseases and deaths. Such diseases as cancer, diabetes, or obesity, cause 2/3 of all deaths, one of the main reasons for these pathologies being incorrect nutrition, and namely - the increased content of cholesterol and fat. Fast-food, in particular, contains a very dangerous form of cholesterol which can damage heart and blood vessels. Diet diseases in modern society and their connection with hospitality and food serving industries The fast food industry in the United Kingdom is characterized as "the most prominent, the most dynamic and the most rapidly growing" market. (Jones et al. 2002) Modern spread of junk food is causing different illnesses, of which the most common one is obesity. (Leake & Porter 2003) Not everyone understands nowadays that bulimia, for example, is a kind of addiction, same as alcoholism or drug-taking. But the difference is - food is a "legal drug". The most widespread addiction is considered to be sugar. Food and soft drinks manufacturers use this sugar addiction to the wide range. They know that people cannot eat pure sugar, and therefore they put sugar in excessive amounts into soft drinks and sweets. As a result, many people get addicted to sugar, and do not even realize how much of this product they consume. Almost nobody counts the content of sugar in his everyday Fanta, or in a pack of biscuits. Manufacturers and owners of fast-food restaurants are making their profit, whereas many people suffer from being addicted to sugar. More than half citizens of the USA or Canada are overweight, and everyone knows that it is harmful for health. "According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, a whopping 55% of adult Americans are now classified as overweight" (James-Enger 2007) However, the doctors and dieticians cannot oppose the everlasting flow of ads and commercials propagating "eating non-stop" as the best way of life. The number of people suffering from obesity has been growing fast; especially topical this problem is for the USA, however many European and Asian countries also have increasing number of obese people, and therefore the growth of patients suffering from diabetes is no wonder. Also, nutritionists are sure that the growth of the number of people suffering from increased blood pressure, heart attacks, etc., is also caused by diet disorders, and, above all, obesity. There is an opinion that obesity can largely be attributed to the fact that many people nowadays prefer to eat out rather than stay at home, and mostly in fast-food restaurants. The food in restaurants contains more calories than home-made food, and apart from that, children coming to restaurants normally eat more. Fast-food causes diseases, and it harms human organisms as it normally takes not more than fifteen minutes to eat it, whereas there is a so-called saturation centre that is "switched on" after 20 minutes after a person begins eating. If within these first 20 minutes one eats fast, it is possible to eat far too much. Moreover, some products, even those served in restaurants, can be a source of infection. British doctors recommend not to eat underdone hamburgers as they can contain dangerous microorganisms. It has been proved that a healthy diet can prevent the development of blindness. Incorrect nutrition, and lack of vitamins and zinc can cause loss of sight. Vice versa, a healthy diet containing cabbage, nuts, corn, egg yolk, peas, and other products can save from the loss of sight. The average European citizen only consumes about 1/6 of the quantity of these products that he should consume. Therefore, fast-food restaurants can be a reason for the development of this disease as well. Though this statement is sometimes criticised by doctors, many researchers nowadays are trying to prove that certain kinds of food are able to cause a stable addiction, which can be compared to that caused by alcohol or drugs. Among such "edible drugs" there are cheese, chocolate, sugar, and meat. In fact, addictive is almost every product that combines fat and sugar, as these components make our brain produce the substances that cause the feeling of happiness (they are often called "happiness hormones"): "foods which are high in fat and sugar can cause significant changes in brain biochemistry similar to those from drugs such as heroin and cocaine. (Leake, J. and Porter, A., 2003) In industrially developed countries, the consumption of sugar is now 17 times as much as, say, 150 years ago. (Vinberg, Mirja, 2005) In the USA, an average person eats around 130 pounds sugar per year (that is about 35 teaspoons of sugar a day). (Lagerquist, R.) Doctors have all the reasons to be worried, as human organisms are not "designed" to digest such excessive amounts of sugar, and as a result diabetes and obesity become more and more widespread. Apart from these dangerous illnesses, consumption of too much sugar can cause dermatitis, caries, and different kinds of allergies. Moreover, the danger of sugar-addiction is claimed to be even more significant: some researchers have proven that eating an excessive amount of sugar is very likely to make a person uncontrolled, in the same way as with those addicted to drugs. K. DesMaisons, president and CEO of Radiant Recovery, has been studying the connection between health and behaviour, on the one hand, and the amount of sugar in food consumed by children. The results of her research are striking: she found out that eating too much sugar makes children uncontrolled. (Scott 2005) Sugar makes the brain produce opiates, and a person gets addicted to it in the same way he can get addicted to heroin. (Vinberg & Mirja 2005) Experts are especially concerned about the so-called "concealed" sugar which is added to the food in fast-food restaurants. This sugar is normally not counted when we calculate the amount of sugar we eat, and this "concealed" sugar is contained predominantly in sweets and soft drinks. The danger of consuming too much sugar is that it replaces "normal", healthy food in the ration, therefore causing a deficit of minerals and vitamins. Junk food provides human organisms with the so-called "empty" calories that fill the stomach but do not bring components that are good for body: "Body-food" restaurants, those that attract customers whose primary intent is to fill the stomach, are the oldest and most common form of restaurant. McDonald's is a classic body-food emporium. The goal of the world's largest restaurant chain is to serve food that nourishes the body with few frills or thrills. This goal is achieved in clean, efficient surroundings. The fare is purposely bland and non-offensive to increase the customer base. Few of us eat at McDonald's because we actually savour the flavours. We go there because the food is economical, it is served quickly, the coffee is always fresh, and the bathrooms are always clean. (Pillsbury 1998, 165-168) Governmental concern about diet diseases and its influence upon the hospitality and food serving industries In Britain, the government has recently become very concerned about the idea of sugar addiction, and there are special programmes aimed at limiting people's sugar intake and getting industry to cut sugar levels in their food products. (Government 'gets tough' on sugar, 2004) Of course, this approach influences the hospitality industry significantly. The governments of the European countries and the USA spend hundreds of thousands pounds annually to cure people from diseases caused by obesity. Nowadays, this problem is of paramount importance, and governments prefer to spend costs on health education of the nations, physical training, and encouraging restaurants to offer to their customers the dishes with low calories content. There are sometimes actions on the part of the government that are meant to actually force the hospitality and foodservice industries to serve healthy food. For example, in the USA, there is an organisation called AWT (America's Wellness Team) - it is a team of specialists that encourages foodservice and hospitality industry companies to maintain the health of consumers offering them quality and healthy products. Most consumers are interested in good health. They are clueless on just how to acquire it. The aforementioned business sectors have all been the target for critics who've challenged the integrity of an offering. For example, the foodservice and lifestyle industries are repeatedly attacked for menu offerings that are high fat, too sugary, cholesterol and calorie burdened. (America's Wellness Team 2007) As a result, many leading companies (in the spheres of hospitality and food serving industry) in many countries have begun to consider the issue of health and balanced diet seriously. In some cases, however, it is impossible for the government to influence the menu of restaurants and hotels directly, but much can be achieved by promoting healthy lifestyle and boosting public awareness of the danger of fast food. As a result, companies that do not offer healthy food to their customers, loose credibility, and as a result, profit; and they aim themselves to update the menu they offer in accordance with the modern tendencies of sticking to healthy lifestyle and balanced nutrition. All in all, the government's concern about healthy diet of citizens has powerful influence upon the strategies restaurants have to implement so that to remain competitive. A bright example is McDonald's that seems to try hard to participate in social life of the communities, so that to create and maintain an image of a socially responsible company. It supports local charity in every community it integrates into, as well as various social projects and educational programmes. They recently began to specify the content of fat and carbohydrates on the packages of their food, and they also consider offering low-fat hamburgers and propagating healthy lifestyle. (Pilditch, D., 2003) It has been stated that: not only are McDonald's encouraging the use of a style of food which is closely associated with risk of cancer and heart disease, whilst health professionals are trying to reduce the risks to Western populations, but they are actively promoting the same cultures where at present these diseases are not a problem (cited from: Silverstone 2007) The majority of nutritionists agree that "McDonald's must bear some responsibility for degrading the nations' diet, the culinary repertoire and the skills of the hospitality industry. This last factor has widespread implications in terms of an individual's self esteem and the values of society". (Silverstone 2007) As a result, McDonald's had to do two re-branding campaigns during the last several years, and the first change of its image was connected with the mass interest to the healthy way of life, and support of this interest on the part of the government. McDonald's, which is doubtless a symbol of unhealthy lifestyle, junk food, and as a result, obesity, started losing its income because everyone became concerned about keeping fit. To win its customers back, McDonald's introduced innovations: e.g., its "Happy Meal" for children began to include fresh carrot instead of fries; low-fat grilled chicken instead of pork; juice instead of Fanta, Cola, or Sprite; and even fruit jelly consisting of natural juice rich in vitamins. Now McDonald's is being positioned as a place where it is quite possible to eat healthily. There have been multiple accusations of McDonald's claiming that the company deliberately wants to make people eat more - the brightest example is perhaps the famous Morgan Spurlock's documentary Super Size Me. As a result, McDonald's is planning to exclude from its everyday menu "super size" portions of fries and soft drinks. Also, it is offering its customers hamburgers and cheeseburgers with increased vitamin content. McDonald's competitors also have to change their strategies. For example, Burger King Restaurants chain began to sell hamburgers without bread. Hamburgers are now sold in the leaves of green salad. Instead of fried potatoes, Burger King serves salad together with burgers, and instead of soda water - mineral water. Also, the company is planning to widen the range of fresh salads. Of course, these decisions were due to the widely spread "campaign for the healthy lifestyle" supported by the governments. The increasing popularity of Dr Atkin's diet encouraged TGI Friday's restaurants chain to announce their partnership with Atkins Nutritionals Inc. These restaurants now serve exclusively those dishes that are cooked in accordance with the principles of Atkin's diet. This initiative was widely followed - for instance, by Chang's China Bistro, Ruby Tuesday, KFC, P.F., etc. The government influences people's choice of food they eat by means of social commercials and advertising, and the current tendency is to advertise the food not in accordance with its taste qualities, but according to the criteria of rational diet. Within the frame of this new approach, the satisfaction one should receive from food is inseparably connected with its positive influence upon health. The bright example of how the TV commercials can produce powerful influence upon the public opinion is stated by S. Tripathi in her article about the increase of the number of vegetarians in the United Kingdom. According to her, in Britain, the spread of vegetarianism is very much due to "seeing the harrowing images of animal pyres on the television". (Tripathi 2001, p. 14) In many countries, governments promote agricultural sector, and encourage restaurants and hotels buy more fruit and vegetables. (Eneas 2007) There are official proposals to the governments of European countries to focus their attention upon tackling obesity, and introducing nationwide campaigns for healthy lifestyle, balanced diet, and physical activity. There are certain initiatives that presuppose influencing companies working in hospitality industry and foodserving industry: such as adding more vitamins and minerals into the ration offered to customers, and labeling all products thus informing people of the calories, carbohydrates, and fat content in the food they consume. Conclusion What with the modern increase of public awareness of the importance of healthy lifestyle, and balanced diet in particular, upon the health of the nation, the government is using different ways to influence the hospitality and food serving industries so that they promote the ideals of health. This influence is of both direct and indirect character, as there are special committees whose goal is to force companies serve healthy food, and at the same time the government aims at making customers aware of the importance of healthy lifestyle, and customers, in their turn, influence the strategies of companies that are bound to satisfy the customers' needs. Works Cited 1. America's Wellness Team. Retrieved on December 29, 2007 from: 2. Eneas, Godfrey. Agribusiness: diet, more fruit and vegetables. December 29, 2007. Retrieved on December 29, 2006 from: 3. "Government 'gets tough' on sugar", BBC News, September17, 2004. Retrieved on December 29, 2007 from: 4. "High sugar consumption linked to chronic disease", HMG Worldwide, August 28, 2003.. Retrieved on December 29, 2007 from: 5. James-Enger, Kelly. From bananas to blintzes: writing about diet, nutrition and food. 2007. Retrieved on December 29, 2007 from: 6. Jones, P., Hillier, D., Shears, P. and Clarke-Hill, C. "Customer perceptions of services brands: a case study of the three major fast food retailers in the UK", Management Research News, 2002, Vol. 25, No 6/7. 7. Lagerquist, Ron. Sugar addiction. In: Foundation to all freedom. Retrieved on December 29, 2007 from: 8. Leake, Jonathan & Porter, Andrew. "Burgers are as addictive as drugs", The Sunday Times, July 13, 2003. Retrieved on December 29, 2007 from: 9. Pilditch, David. "Fat's your lot McDonalds", Mirror, February 6, 2003. Retrieved on December 29, 2007 from: 10. Pillsbury, Richard. No foreign food: the American diet in time and place, Boulder: Westview Press, 1998. 11. Scott, Heather K. Dealing with childhood sugar addiction. BabyZone, Inc. 2005. Retrieved on December 28, 2007 from: 12. Silverstone, Rob. A response to Lyon, Taylor and Smith: the Ritzer debate continued. Retrieved on December 29, 2007 from: 13. Tripathi, Salil. "Vegetarians, this is your moment!" New Statesman, Vol. 130, issue 4531, April 2, 2001, p. 14. 14. Vinberg, Mirja. "On a sweet hook. Is sugar addiction possible" Turun Sanomat, February 2005. Retrieved on December 29, 2007 from: Read More