- Multinational food companies have known for years of
research that suggests many of their products trigger chemical reactions
in the brain which lead people to overeat, The Telegraph can reveal.
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- Scientists working for Nestle and Unilever have been
quietly investigating how certain foods, such as chocolate biscuits, burgers
and snacks, make people binge-eat, thereby fuelling obesity. The companies
insist that there is no proof that the foods create bio-chemical reactions
that make people eat too much. They are not yet prepared to issue consumer
warnings or change the nature of the products.
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- However, scientists working for the industry have said
manufacturers fear they have created foods that undermine the body's abilities
to control intake and are battling to find a solution. "We have created
a bio-chemical monster," one said.
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- The revelation will be seized on by those who allege
that the food industry has been reckless. More than 300 million people
worldwide are now deemed clinically obese, with an estimated 2.5 million
dying each year as a result of being overweight. In Britain, more than
one in five adults is obese - triple the figure of 20 years ago.
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- Earlier this year America's leading fast-food chains,
including McDonald's and Burger King, were warned of possible legal action
from obese people following research on mice and rats suggesting that fast
food could trigger overeating. It is now clear that the industry has known
for years of similar results from research on humans.
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- One scientist who acts as a consultant to food manufacturers
said: "They are aware that they have been too successful in creating
food that some people just can't say no to. It's an enormous problem."
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- The overeating effect is thought to be triggered by opioids,
chemicals which produce a desire to eat more while reducing the "sated"
feeling that normally kills appetite.
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- Research being studied by the industry shows that although
the effect is only short-lived, it can have a dramatic effect on food intake.
According to a recent review of 20 years of research by scientists at the
University of Sussex, when release of opioids was blocked using drugs,
intake among human volunteers fell by 21 per cent. The effect was even
larger among obese people, whose intake fell by 33 per cent.
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- Further research also suggests that the opioids effect
is strongest with products that involve combinations of foods which are
typically high in fat and carbohydrates. These combinations are routinely
used to boost the so-called palatability of products, with chocolate being
added to cereals and biscuits, cheese added to savoury snacks, and buns
with a high sugar content being used for hamburgers and cheeseburgers.
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- The industry has long sought to drive up the palatability
of its products. Now, however, it is becoming clear that palatability reflects
the effect food has on the brain.
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- Dr Martin Yeomans, of the University of Sussex, a leading
authority on opioids, said: "I am confident that opioids play a role
in food intake."
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- Dr Yeomans will present the latest evidence linking palatability
to over-eating at a scientific meeting this week which is sponsored by
leading food companies, including Nestle, the world's largest, and Unilever.
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- A spokesman for Nestle in Vevey, Switzerland, confirmed
that the company has been studying the role of palatability and opioids
in food intake for many years. He said: "We have projects currently
running to investigate this and other aspects of obesity and the company
will make all necessary changes when there is significant scientific evidence
to support such action."
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- However, the company did not consider the evidence strong
enough to require action: "We have to be certain that there are no
unexpected negative aspects." Unilever, which owns the Knorr, Birds
Eye and Ragu brands, is also investigating the links.
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- At this week's conference in Groningen, Holland, scientists
will present strategies for dealing with the issue, including greater consumer
education and labelling.
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- The findings about the effects of opioids were seized
on yesterday by Prof John Banzhaf of George Washington University, Washington
DC, who played a key role in the billion-dollar lawsuits against tobacco
companies during the 1990s.
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- During the 1990s, evidence emerged that the industry
had manipulated cigarettes' content to enhance their addictive nature.
In 1998, the industry reached a settlement with 46 American state governments
totalling $206 billion.
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- Prof Banzhaf described the food industry's knowledge
of possible links between high-calorie food and over-eating by humans as
"astounding". "This would seem to constitute failure to
disclose a material fact - information that might sway the decision of
consumers, had they known about it," he said.
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- While there is no suggestion that the food industry knowingly
manipulates its products to boost over-consumption, Prof Banzhaf said there
were parallels with the case against the tobacco industry. "They said
smokers smoke for the taste, and it had nothing to do with the brain. It
sounds to me that we have something very similar here."
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- © Copyright of Telegraph Group Limited 2003.
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