Ahhhhhh, health – one of those issues like the environment that people talk passionately about and yet in the main, do very little about. Once upon a time, being healthy meant going out and enjoying an activity. It didn’t matter if it was footie, swimming, squash or netball … it was something we had fun doing that also had the benefit of keeping us in ‘tip-top’ condition.
However in the modern age, whilst those activities are still going on, ‘getting healthy’ has taken on a different direction – now it’s about going to a gym, doing specific workouts, competing with your personal-best times rather than an opposing team. [Yes, many gyms do run ‘group courses’ however in the main, the activities are based on personal endurance rather than what you can achieve as a member of a team] Is there anything wrong with that?
Of course not, however it is having the effect of stigmatising health into an area that is more exclusive rather than inclusive – something that can put people off despite them appreciating how it would benefit their health overall.
What this has all led to is the rise of ‘Convenient Health’ – where every food/beverage company has tailored their products to offer a more ‘healthy option. We now see McDonalds sell salads and Coca-Cola sell water … we see Kentucky Fried Chicken rebrand themselves to KFC and watch as high-sugared MILO becomes an energy food … it’s health, health, health and yet, in many cases, what is deemed as being healthy should be regarded as simply being ‘healthier’.
What’s the distinction?
Well it’s that a McDonald Grilled Chicken Burger may be better for you than a Big Mac but compared to many other food groups, it still is very, very UNhealthy for you. Lets be honest, we all know this and yet these options continue to appeal – why?
1 Macca’s [and the like] are convenience companies. They purposely locate themselves in high traffic and/or poor neighbourhoods to attract the time poor/financially poor.
2 We all like to think we’re soooooo busy and important which allows us to justify getting ‘a quick bite’.
3 We are subliminally trained from a young age to believe ‘healthy = tasteless’
4 We know we should be doing something for our health so by choosing a grilled-but-smothered-in-mayo-burger-and-fries, we ‘kid ourselves’ we’re doing something right for our bodies.
5 We live in a ‘denial free’ society – where if we want something, we should have it and worry about any consequences later on. ie: Credit Card Debt and Obesity
Hey, I’m not preaching, I’m just as bad. If I end up in a Macca’s or the like, I end up ordering something like a super-fat burger and fries with a diet soda.
[This ‘truth’ was utilised by Diet Tango with their advertising campaign “You Need It Because You’re Weak”]
Now some of you might be under the mistaken impression that Asia is healthy. It isn’t.
Sure it is HEALTHIER than much of the West, but the food – while very, very cheap and tasty [bar things like ‘Pig Organ Soup’] actually tends to consist of alot of oil, salt, sugar and fats.
However there is one company in Singapore that is trying to positively influence people’s diets.
They are trying to rid our ‘unhealthy justification’ by creating foods that are tasty, convenient, truly healthy and handmade from scratch.
I particularly like the ‘handmade from scratch’ wording because not only does it tap into the inherent human belief that this means ‘better for you’ it also justifies the price premium inherent in most health products. [Though in many cases, this price increase is unjustifiable like ‘water’ costing more than the equivalent volume of alcohol]
To be fair, they are very serious about this issue because they’ve even banned TRANSFATS which only last weekend were highlighted as having the potential to affect fertility so I wish them all the best with this direction – and whilst there are other companies out there with a similar stance – I still can’t believe brands like Jenny Craig and Weight Watchers haven’t set up a chain offering this sort of thing because the World is crying out for it.
OK, so it’s outrageously expensive to set up and yes, I know they’ve done deals with certain Fast Food Chains to offer food that fits their ‘diet policies’… but come on, they have more cred than Macca’s, KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and Burger King ever will.
Years ago we got a brief from a health care company to position themselves as the nations ‘health care company’. Whilst we were doing all our explorations, we found this great quote …
“Health is simply the slowest rate which you can die”
… and whilst we turned it into a lovely campaign [You Have More Birthdays With Boots] it would seem that despite living in the most Health-aware times in history, the battle of ‘cheap and convenient’ is winning the battle of real health.
[I know, this is a particularly hypocritical post given the ‘sausage vote’ … sue me!]