practice applications
Many Companies Making More Healthful
L
ately, the news about consumer
health has taken a positive spin.
Gaining prominence in news out-
lets are reports of how food manufac-
turers and fast-food restaurants—now
that there is greater understanding
of how environment can influence in-
dividual choices and, consequently,
health—are rethinking and revamp-
ing how they create and market their
products. Such initiatives signal that
perhaps changing the environment
and improving the health of the pub-
lic’s nutritional intake is becoming
more of a collaborative effort. Food
and nutrition professionals can help
to bring about these changes, as well
as inform their clients about these op-
tions.
TRANS FAT TRANSITIONS OUT
In recent months, the media have
largely covered news about fast-food
outlets abandoning the use of trans
fats. In June 2006, Wendy’s Interna-
tional publicized its switch to more
healthful cooking oils in all its stores
in the United States and Canada (1),
and in October 2006, KFC Corpora-
tion announced the same (2). Mc-
Donald’s Corporation and Burger
King Brands, Inc, both made their
own announcements regarding the
search for alternatives to trans fat in
their own outlets and the expectation
to implement new cooking oils in 2008
(3,4).
The fast-food companies aren’t
alone in making such changes. On the
same day that Burger King’s an-
nouncement made the news, Marriott
International and Omni Hotels be-
came the first major hotel chains to
follow the trans-fat–free trend, each
announcing the intention to switch to
This article was written by Karen
Stein, MFA, a freelance writer in
Chicago, IL.
doi: 10.1016/j.jada.2007.02.042
550 Journal of the AMERICAN DIETETIC ASSOCIATION
Choices for Consumers
a more healthful alternative in the
restaurants, room service, and ban-
quet halls by spring (5). Several other
hotel franchises have said they, too,
are researching the possibility of
switching cooking oils (5). Foodser-
vice strategy consultant Dennis Lom-
bardi says this change in hotels and
restaurants is essential, thanks to
“growing consumer awareness and
more local governments looking to
ban trans fats” (5).
Theme parks, too, are joining the
fray. The Walt Disney Company has
announced its intention to eliminate
trans fats from all foods served at its
theme parks by the end of 2007 and
will eventually include food sold in
the parks by outside chains, which
includes McDonald’s (6). But the an-
ticipated modifications in food-related
business practices by Disney and
other companies that heavily market
to children do not stop at improving
the oils used for cooking—the changes
by these groups run far deeper.
THE SEA CHANGE
Disney’s new approach to food-related
marketing acknowledges the compa-
ny’s social responsibility as a power-
house in children’s marketing. Says
chief executive Robert Iger, Disney is
aware of its “huge responsibility. . .
given our reach and our ability to im-
pact people’s behavior and opinions”
(7). In addition to serving more
healthful food options at its US theme
parks, the new efforts include the
launch of branded healthful foods and
cutting back on using its characters
for branding products of high fat and
sugar content.
Expected changes at Disney theme
parks include “[changing] the default
options for side orders from French
fries to a more healthy choice, like
carrots or applesauce” (6). The new
line of healthful foods is part of a co-
branding deal with The Kroger Co su-
permarkets—a chain of 2,500 stores—
© 2007 by the American Dietetic Association
BEYOND THE HEADLINES
that was announced in July 2006.
Using package designs with Mickey
Mouse as well as characters from Toy
Story, Monsters, Inc., The Incredibles,
and Winnie the Pooh, these products
will include vegetables, yogurts,
meats, soups, and breads, plus items
such as ice cream that are sold in
portion-controlled servings (8).
Disney’s name will also be linked
with a healthful lifestyle among the
companies with which there are exist-
ing licensing relationships—such as
McDonald’s, The Coca-Cola Com-
pany, and the Kellogg Company—as
the corporation has established nutri-
tional standards for sugar, energy,
and fat content in the food products
(9). These guidelines, to be enacted
2008 when contractual obligations
have ended, require that fat does not
exceed 30% of the calories in main
dishes; saturated fat does not exceed
10% of calories; added sugar does not
exceed 10% of calories for main and
side dishes, and 25% for snacks; and
trans fats are eliminated (6). For the
time being, these restrictions do not ap-
ply to items for special events, such as
birthday cakes and holiday candy (6).
It is important to emphasize, how-
ever, that Disney’s aim is to align it-
self with healthful offerings and this
move is not necessarily meant to be
punitive against the companies that
produce foods high in fats, sugars,
and energy. For example, although
McDonald’s offers many items that
would not meet Disney’s new nutri-
tion criteria and its licensing contract
expired in 2006 (9), McDonald’s also
offers healthful options at its stores,
so Disney might maintain a relation-
ship with the company, albeit a po-
tentially revised one.
The appearance of Disney charac-
ters on products have generated size-
able profit over the years—$21 billion
in retail sales in 2005 (which repre-
sents a 15% increase over 2004 sales)
and totals for 2006 were projected to
reach $23 billion (8).

As noted by Harry Dolman, Disney
Consumer Products’ (DCP) executive
vice president for food, health, and
beauty, this new approach “marks a
departure for DCP from playing the
role of a ‘passive’ licensor just ‘slap-
ping characters on packages’ and fo-
cusing on ‘deal making and collecting
royalties,’ to a more ‘active’ role that
collaborates closely with partners like
Kroger on the entire trajectory of a
product launch, from research and de-
velopment to packaging to market-
ing” (8).
Nickelodeon, too, has revised its
marketing strategy to address health
concerns. The company has an-
nounced that its characters Sponge-
Bob SquarePants and Dora the Ex-
plorer will be featured on the
packaging for packs of nectarines,
peaches, and plums, in hopes that it
will encourage fruit consumption
among children (10). Nickelodeon has
also announced that for delivering
messages related to healthful living
to its young audience, it has ear-
marked $30 million in resources and
10% of its airtime (10).
According to Nickelodeon’s vice-
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president of consumer products
Sherice Torres, “We believe that what
is good for kids is good for business.
Because the rising obesity issue is im-
portant in kids’ lives, we chose to opt
in and be a part of the solution” (10).
THE BOTTOM LINE
Many companies, including those
mentioned in this article, are making
strides toward more healthful prac-
tices, but when given a choice, con-
sumers often choose the less-health-
ful option.
In 2006, for example, instead of the
addition of more healthful fare to the
menu leading to a great revival for
McDonald’s, it was the continued of-
fering of dollar value items that
turned the tide for the company,
which had been struggling at that
time. Although the fast-food salads
gained some popularity in 2004 and
2005, they never overtook the higher-
fat fare in sales. In fact, despite the
heavy advertising of salads in the na-
tional media, the average McDonald’s
franchise sells approximately 50 sal-
ads a day, whereas the number of
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April 2007 ● Journal of the AMERICAN DIETETIC ASSOCIATION
BEYOND THE HEADLINES
double cheeseburgers sold on a daily
basis is closer to 300 to 400 units.
Furthermore, though the cost of a
chicken sandwich may be as much as
$4.29, the $1 double cheeseburgers
bring more revenue to the stores (11).
Besides the unpredictability of pub-
lic response, there is also the cost of
implementation to consider. Accord-
ing to Lombardi, for example, “It’s
costly for a company of Marriott’s size
to eliminate trans fats” (5).
However, finding the alternative
has its price. McDonald’s had to find
the perfect blend that would not alter
the taste of its existing products, par-
ticularly the french fries. The trans-
fat–free oil that the company plans to
use required the testing of “18 variet-
ies of oil in more than 50 blends dur-
ing the last 7 years” to ensure that
what the customer would be getting
was the same—what they expect the
product to taste like after years of
consistency—and not “better,” not in
any way “improved” or different tast-
ing (4). Similarly, Burger King said it
took the company 2 years of testing to
find a few satisfactory oil blends to
choose from (3).
551
BEYOND THE HEADLINES
Wendy’s spokesman Bob Bertini
(personal communication, February
7, 2007) says Wendy’s also needed 2
years to extensively test oil blends to
find the one that best maintained the
taste and quality customers expected.
But Bertini also says that the cost of
implementation was a nonissue for
the company: “Quite simply, given
the developing body of knowledge
about the nature of trans fats, it was
the right thing to do for the cus-
tomer.” Wendy’s is currently working
on eliminating as much trans fat from
the menu as possible, including in
buns and the croutons on salads.
Considering how much effort these
companies have invested in seeking,
choosing, and implementing alterna-
tives to trans fat, a potential, even-
tual hidden cost may loom: there is a
limited supply of the high-oleic-acid
canola and low-linoleic soybean seeds
required for McDonald’s and other
restaurants’ choice of oil and, given
their size, a lot of these oils will be
needed (4,12). How this potential di-
lemma is resolved depends on farm-
ing decisions made in the coming
years—namely, those related to crop
selection and prices (12) here in the
United States, or in the firms finding
other sources for them.
However, as Stephanie Patrick,
vice president of Policy Initiatives
and Advocacy for the American Die-
tetic Association, stated, “This cur-
rent situation is reflective of a mar-
ketplace that seesaws,” responding to
the latest food-related trend in dis-
ease prevention. In the 1980s, it was
the campaign to get rid of “tropical”
fats (the palm and coconut oils),
which are high in saturated fat, that
brought us where we are today. Trans
fats were the natural option; they had
qualities that customers preferred in
foods. Now, trans fat as a replacement
for tropic oils has come full-circle.”
The bottom line for addressing health
concerns today, says Patrick, “lies not
in any particular formulation of oil or
fat, but in lowering saturated and
trans fat consumption in general.”
THE CHANGING ENVIRONMENT AND THE
PROFESSION
According to James O. Hill, PhD,
even as ever more obese and over-
weight patients and clients are being
guided to successfully altering per-
sonal habits related to diet and exer-
552 April 2007 Volume 107 Number 4
cise for losing excess weight, our cul-
tural environment has been conducive
to that weight being regained over
time (13). But Hill also acknowledges
that advances in the food industry
have been made, though there is still
much work to be done. He also high-
lights how registered dietitians can
turn this environmental change into a
practical application for helping their
clients: “You need to know what is
happening within the food industry so
that you can encourage your patients
to take advantage of the better
choices available in grocery stores. . .
We can all do our part by encouraging
our patients to consider healthier
foods” (13).
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