Wellness 13: An Analysis of Health Trends

The burgeoning incentivizing of health care as well as the increasing incidence of diabetes, heart disease, and obesity portend a greater demand for products that promote a healthy lifestyle. As a consequence, a surge in the sales of healthful, nutritious foods is likely to occur over the next five years. IFT’s Wellness Conference, scheduled for February 27–28, 2013, at the InterContinental Chicago O’Hare in Rosemont, Ill., offers tools and insights to identify health and wellness food trends that will provide a knowledge-based competitive edge to meet growing consumer demand.

General Sessions
Commencing the conference on Wednesday, February 27, is the keynote session, “Year in Health—What Mattered Most to Consumers,” presented by Michael W. Smith, Chief Medical Editor of WebMD. Smith will discuss WebMD’s annual compilation of the top health stories, inquiries, and trends. WebMD’s top features and searches include the cause of belly fat and how to eliminate it, the foods consumers should avoid to sustain a robust life, and foodborne pathogens on produce. In addition to these issues, Smith will examine how trends in health data correlate to foods for health and wellness.

Two panel discussions follow the keynote session. The first is “The Next Generation of Food Companies,” featuring an expert panel of food entrepreneurs discussing the succeeding generation of food companies and the challenges they have encountered. The second panel discussion, “Teens from the Top Down,” will explore the lifestyles, influences, and preferences of American teenagers as they pertain to healthy food choices. Moderated by Jeff Hilton of Integrated Marketing Group and Barbara Katz of HealthFocus International, this adaptation of Wellness’s annual exploration of the minds of consumers promises to be a conference favorite.

LuAnn Williams of Innova Market Insights spearheads the final general session, “The Nutrition Benchmark: Who’s Improving America’s Health?” Williams will identify the companies that are setting the standard for the development of foods for health and nutrition. She will highlight similarities and differences of product formulations with regard to nutrient composition. In addition, Williams will reveal which products are successful with consumers while meeting U.S. nutrition and dietary guidelines.

Consumer Lifestyles & Demographics
In the consumer lifestyles & demographics track is the session “Functional Foods and Health Claims—Creating Claims That Are Substantiated and Defensible in a New Age of Scrutiny,” during which Michael Kelly of Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company and Holly Bayne of Bayne & Associates will discuss the pitfalls of making health claims on functional foods. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has augmented its enforcement activities, filing a number of class-action lawsuits against companies for misleading or false assertions. Kelly and Bayne with delve into the critical aspects of these cases and suggest strategies to develop valid product claims that are unassailable.

The session “Is the Food Fortification Policy Helping Consumers and Do They Get the Message?” focuses on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s policy to help Americans obtain essential nutrients from food. Deshanie Rai of DSM Nutritional Products, Marianne Smith Edge of the International Food Information Council, and Kathy Wiemer of General Mills Inc. will discuss whether the consumer trend of forgoing processed foods in favor of local organic foods fosters nutrient deficiency in key segments of the population. Participants will hear strategies for developing and marketing fortified packaged foods that appeal to health-savvy shoppers.

Also included in the consumer lifestyles & demographics track are sessions on using label claims to generate sales, developing products targeted to diehard health enthusiasts, enhancing salt perception in reduced sodium foods, and unraveling the genome of the healthful mind.

Emerging Opportunities
The emerging opportunities track contains the session “Investigating Sensory Equivalence of Reformulated Products,” presented by Benoît Rousseau of the Institute for Perception and John Cowden of General Mills Inc. Rousseau and Cowden will discuss five fundamental principles of sensory difference testing to determine viable alternatives to current product offerings. Common testing protocols lack the precision necessary to avoid reformulations that are ultimately rejected by consumers. Rousseau and Cowden will identify ways to circumvent failed product reformulations.

In the session “Healthy Muscle, Blood Sugar Levels & Circulation: Hot Health Markets for the Decade Ahead,” A. Elizabeth Sloan of Sloan Trends Inc. and Catherine Adams Hutt of RdR Solutions will discuss the health markers driving the most promising developments in functional foods and beverages. Using Sloan’s predictive trends model, Hutt and Sloan will identify the most marketable opportunities in this area as well as consumer attitudes and behaviors that are critical for product success.

The session “An Update on Health Claim Regulations: Obstacles and Opportunities,” led by Kathy Musa-Veloso and Han Youl Lee of Intertek Cantox, centers on countries’ differing requirements for the scientific substantiation of health claims on food products. Musa-Veloso and Lee will review the European Union’s regulations for health claims, citing relevant examples of compliance, noncompliance, and enforcement activities. The speakers will also compare and contrast scientific and regulatory aspects of approved health claims in South Korea and Europe.

The emerging opportunities track also encompasses sessions on federal protocols for decision-making, artificial sweeteners, and new products, technologies & services as well as presentations from finalists of the Heart-Healthy Product Development Competition.

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Healthier Living
“Seeing Is Believing: Nutrients for Visual Performance” is one of the sessions in the healthier living track. During this session, Michael McBurney of DSM Nutritional Products, Billy Hammond of the University of Georgia, and Stuart Richer of the Lovell Federal Health Care Center Eye Clinic will discuss the positive effects of certain antioxidants and other nutrients against age-related eye diseases. McBurney, Hammond, and Richer will discuss research findings for nutrients such as vitamins C and E, beta-carotene, and zinc as well as the natural history and risk factors for age-related eye diseases.

Also in the healthier living track is the session “The Greatest Wealth Is Microbes? The Critical Role of Microbiota in Healthy Aging,” presented by Britt Burton-Freeman of IIT’s Institute of Food Safety and Health and Christine Pelkman of Ingredion Inc. The two will discuss emerging evidence linking intestinal microbiota with healthy aging and offer ideas for using this information to establish new business opportunities.

Two epidemiological studies indicate a possible link between the intake of supplemental calcium and an increased risk of myocardial infarction. Taylor Wallace of the Council for Responsible Nutrition and Connie Weaver of Purdue University will discuss the results of these studies in the session “Dairy, Fortified Foods, and Dietary Supplements: Can Calcium Intake Increase the Risk of Myocardial Infarction?” Besides evaluating the risk of calcium intake and heart disease, the speakers will debate whether manufacturers should continue adding calcium to food products. Other sessions included in the healthier living track focus on protein intake, the benefits of fatty acids, and nutritious menu items at quick-service restaurants.

As the cost of health care continues to rise, consumer interest in foods that strengthen natural defenses and promote health and wellness are sure to increase—making healthy, nutritious foods an important part of a healthy lifestyle. IFT’s Wellness Conference offers scientific, technical, and business perspectives on the dynamics of the health and wellness food market and strategies for capitalizing on growth in this field.

Registration fee before February 1, 2013: $895 (members); $995 (non-members)

Registration fee after February 1, 2013: $995 (members); $1,095 (non-members)

To register online, visit www.ift.org. Full conference registration includes session materials, breakfast, lunch, and reception.

Toni Tarver is Senior Writer/Editor for Food Technology magazine ([email protected]).