By Lance Gay / Scripps Howard News Service
LAS VEGAS � Savvy food manufacturers and restaurateurs could make a lot of money helping Americans battle the obesity epidemic, just as they profited by larding up consumers, food industry consultants say.
Leonard Teitelbaum, a Merrill Lynch food analyst, told the Institute of Food Technologists convention here this week that every 1 percent shift in what foods Americans buy represents a $1.5 billion market, and new product lines that appeal to lighter consumer tastes could be lucrative.
�That�s enough to get anyone concerned and excited,� Teitelbaum said, noting Wall Street can punish the stocks of food manufacturers who don�t keep up with what customers want. He noted stocks of bread and chocolate manufacturers are feeling the wrath of stockholders because of the impact low-carbohydrate diets are having on traditional bread and cookie producers.
�Obesity is a big deal,� he said.
But some consultants claimed the Atkins diet is just a fad, and destined soon to go the way of the Scarsdale and the grapefruit diets. They predicted the next food fad will be healthy, lower-calorie foods and products that can be marketed as �good for you, better for you.�
�You are going to see calorie consciousness back,� John Stanton, a professor of food marketing at Saint Joseph�s University in Philadelphia, told the annual convention of professional food scientists and industry representatives.
Stanton said he expects the Atkins fad to begin running out of steam in two years, replaced by a niche market for foods that are lower in fats, lower in added sugar and lower in calories.
�There are riches in niches,� he said. �Obesity can mean fat profits.�
Lester Crawford, acting commissioner of the U.S Food and Drug Administration, said his agency this year will propose the first revision in food labels in a decade that will emphasize the calorie content of foods. He said final decisions haven�t been made, but he wants to make the type size larger and add information to the nutrition label.
Crawford said the government also is asking restaurants to come up with a way of telling consumers the nutritional content of the foods they serve.
Judith Stern of the American Obesity Association and a food nutrition professor at the University of California-Davis said the government�s actions are much too timid.
Stern said small reductions in the calorie content of restaurant food could have a major effect over time.
�People should move more and eat less,� Robert Earl of the National Food Processors Association said. He said the food industry is being blamed even though most Americans eat a majority of food at home, and less than 5 percent of cooks are following government food serving guidelines.