Memorandum submitted by the Medical Research
Council's Centre for Human Nutrition Research
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Consumers need enhanced quality not quantity
of information on nutrition issues. Public policy about food and
diet must be built on evidence-based nutrition science. Many stakeholders
play a role in communicating food messages. A holistic approach
is urgently needed to set an overall context, to ensure a consistency
of approach and to build a nationwide framework that facilitates
the necessary changes, from a public health perspective, in lifestyle
and diet. Government must take a central steering role and encourage
others to make the promotion of positive messages about food and
diet a higher priority. HNR supports the FSA in its encouragement
of industry to take a responsible approach to food promotion.
Journalists and scientists need to work in partnership to ensure
that media reporting becomes a more consistent force for good
in the promotion of messages about food and diet. Health professionals
need to be given greater support and improved training in nutrition
in order that they may fulfil their critical roles in this complex
area.
1. MRC HUMAN
NUTRITION RESEARCH
In the UK, the Medical Research Council (MRC)
has a commitment to the dissemination of scientific knowledge
to improve public health. The Nutrition and Health Communications
group at MRC Human Nutrition Research, Cambridge, has a particular
responsibility for the translation of nutrition science into policy
and practice. We liaise with other parts of government, industry,
the media, charities and others to respond to their individual
needs with respect to obesity and other areas where nutrition
makes a significant contribution to public health. The group provides
independent scientific information on nutrition and health to
external stakeholders and a balanced perspective on recent scientific
developments.
2. INTRODUCTION
2.1 Stories about food and links to public
health appear almost daily in the media. There is no shortage
of information available to the public through a wide variety
of sources, though a significant proportion of it either contains
inaccuracies or represents the views of vested interests. Consumers
need enhanced quality not quantity of information on nutrition
issues.
2.2 The recent Wanless Report[1]
has highlighted once again that a poor diet is one of the key
factors underpinning the rising burden of ill health. This can
only be addressed by raising awareness, improving knowledge and
initiating long-term lifestyle changes across society at large.
But public policy about food and diet must be built on evidence-based
nutrition science. In promoting this, communication must be effective
enough to "fill the gap" between scientific and technical
experts, government and other policy makers and the general public.
2.3 Each of us is exposed to thousands of
messages every day, many of which relate to food and lifestyles.
Many different stakeholders have a role in communicating messages
about food to either groups of or individual consumers. These
include government, both central and local, manufacturers and
retailers, employers, schools, health professionals, parents and
individuals. Scientists have a role in helping to frame the debate
about what information is important for consumers and to comment
on proposed campaigns and messages from many of these groups.
A holistic approach is needed to set an overall context for communicating
messages about food to consumers and to ensure a consistency of
approach. In addition, effective communication between the different
stakeholders is essential to build a nationwide framework to facilitate
the necessary changes in lifestyle needed to make individual food
choices more beneficial from a health perspective.
3. GOVERNMENT
3.1 HNR is involved in consultations on
food information schemes initiated through the Department of Health
and the Food Standards Agency and EU. Our own communications experience
suggests that government departments must act in unison if they
are to play a central steering role in delivering consistent,
simple and well-researched messages, which are flexible enough
to remain relevant to different ages throughout the life-course.
In addition, since many dietary issues are strongly correlated
to socio-economic factors, consumer-oriented messages must address
the needs of the poorest and most vulnerable sectors of society.
In order to achieve maximum effectiveness, government would ideally
catalyse the development of a multi-sectoral and long-term communications
strategy, which would encompass all dietary and physical activity
risks for chronic diseases together, alongside other public health
risks such as smoking and ensure that it was adequately resourced,
monitored and evaluated.
4. SCHOOLS
4.1 A recent HNR initiative, A Leaner Fitter
Future[2]
showed that many school management teams are too preoccupied with
funding crises and work force issues to consider food information
a priority. This is unfortunate as schools are in a powerful position
to promote positive messages about food and diet, both through
finding time in the school curriculum and through catering and
other policies adopted by the school. For example, renewed emphasis
on nutrition in the curriculum, the promotion of cost-effective
healthy eating options and rigorous vending machines policies
would send consistent messages to pupils and would support, rather
than hinder, healthy eating habits. In addition, schools should
be encouraged to develop partnerships with parents to continue
to communicate about food appropriately.
5. INDUSTRY
5.1 HNR regularly engages with industry
in both formal and informal dialogue and is consulted on nutrition
and health issues relevant to the food industry. We have undertaken
specific projects with industry, including data analysis, scientific
reviews and consumer awareness programmes. The food industry is
estimated to spend £450 million each year on advertising
in the UK. According to the recent FSA Hastings review on advertising
to children, 75% is spent advertising breakfast cereals, confectionary,
soft drinks and savoury snacks to children. Several major companies
are now taking active steps to investigate how the communications
of nutrient information may be improved, such as "nutritional
benchmarking", although this can sometimes lead to potential
for confusion in the minds of the consumer, or at least diluted
impact, as in the case of "own-brand" five-a-day logos
for fruit and vegetables. HNR supports the efforts of the FSA
to encourage industry to take a more responsible approach to the
promotion of food and the related nutrition messages.
6. MEDIA
6.1 The main way in which HNR scientists
communicate messages about food to the public is through the media.
Managing the flow of scientific information to the public has
become especially challenging in recent years. Most people get
information from television, newspapers, radio and the Internet,
with relatively little coming from the scientific press.
6.2 In a culture that demands openness and
transparency, the concept that scientific debate can be held behind
closed doors is outdated. A responsible media can facilitate an
informed dialogue between authoritative scientists and the public
and advances in information technology allow the dissemination
of scientific developments to the public more quickly than ever
before. In addition, the ever-growing requirement for a greater
consumer involvement in decision making, especially in the context
of issues such as nutrition, which have a direct impact on public
health. Both of these factors demand a sophisticated communication
network.
6.3 The provision of independent and authoritative
information on nutrition in a timely manner is an important step
in promoting accurate and responsible reporting of food and diet
related stories. This is a particular challenge in a field as
broad as nutrition, which lacks a clearly defined professional
status.
7. SCIENTISTS
7.1 Journalists are keen to seek out independent
voices and this has resulted in scientists becoming increasingly
visible in the public arena. Scientists can help the media through
identifying the source and status of new information, thus allowing
consumers to make informed judgement about its credibility and
putting findings in a context that can be useful for consumers,
such as by contrasting with existing knowledge and future research
needs. If journalists and scientists work in partnership, it can
help to reduce the risk of new and unconfirmed reports reaching
the front pages, only to be apparently refuted the following week.
7.2 Inaccurate or partial media reporting
of food stories, however, can also undermine the interests of
both parties. This can happen, for instance, in the reporting
of studies involving a small sample size or where they have been
inadequately peer-reviewed, or where preliminary scientific findings
are being reported. In addition, the media can sometimes foster
controversy where little or none exists, such as industrial collaboration
with scientists, which can also have the effect of undermining
public confidence in scientific communications.
8. SCIENTIFIC
METHOD
8.1 The media likes clear-cut stories, or
controversial ones, but there is a potential conflict here with
established scientific method, which doesn't deal with certainties.
Public understanding of the scientific method is also highly variable,
and the process by which scientific evidence is translated into
policy is frequently unclear. This can lead to public misunderstanding
of science or enhanced perceptions that scientific advice changes
too frequently.
9. FOOD LABELLING
9.1 Food labelling is an important element
in the provision of nutrition information to consumers, but consumers
must be able to interpret the data appropriately to make meaningful
choices and changes to their diet.
9.2 HNR supports the work of the Joint Health
Claims Initiative, but recognises that this will be superseded
by forthcoming EU legislation.
10. HEALTH PRACTITIONERS
10.1 Health practitioners are an important
source of information on food and nutrition and HNR would like
to see more emphasis placed on nutrition in their training, especially
in formal nutrition and medical curricula. It is also important
that the public are able to identify appropriate trained nutritionists
and we support the development of a Register of Nutritionists
and accreditation of nutrition courses by the Nutrition Society.
11. EDUCATIONAL
CAMPAIGNS
11.1 Educational campaigns require a long-term
strategy and adequate resourcing to be successful. In recent years,
the government-led campaigns to encourage consumers to eat more
fruit and vegetables and to consume more oily fish have increased
the level of awareness of the importance of these food groups
at least in some sub-groups of the population. Diet composition
is a complex subject to communicate, requiring separate messages
about calories, the proportion of specific types of fat, protein
and carbohydrates and the additional health effects of food groups
such as fruits and vegetables and alcohol and the importance and
health effects of micronutrients. Such a diverse range of messages
about food can be difficult for consumers to assimilate, potentially
leading to a perception of scientific discord or confused public
policy.
11.2 Educational campaigns about food and
diet also need to be flexible enough to meet the needs of individuals
at different stages of "lifestyle change". For example,
research in the behavioural sciences into obesity has developed
useful models to describe the "stage of change" of an
individual at any moment in time, ranging through pre-contemplation,
contemplation, preparation, action, maintenance and relapse. These
models acknowledge that the messages for individuals need to be
tailored to their needs at the time. Thus a pre-contemplation
individual needs the motivation to even consider the need to make
lifestyle changes, while an individual who has arrived at the
action stage needs practical implementation strategies. Newspapers,
and to a lesser extent magazines, sell to a broad cross-section
of society with respect to their personal weight agenda. There
is a temptation for scientists and journalists to leap to providing
action-orientated messages, yet the majority of the population
have not yet reached this stage of change and hence the information
fails to initiate change. Instead, a greater emphasis on messages
that raise awareness of the links between food and health in order
to move individuals into the preparation stage is needed.
12. ADVERTISING
12.1 HNR has no specific scientific expertise
in the impact of advertising on food choices.
April 2004
1 Securing Good Health for the Whole Population Final
Report by Derek Wanless. Back
2
A Leaner Fitter Future-Options for Action is available from www.mrc-hnr.cam.ac.uk Back
| 
