What’s in a Name?

A recent newspaper article re fruit bars highlighted an issue we face constantly. Misuse of product categories/names/research is a problem we constantly face as we focus on bringing the best of breed (category) products in the Wellness/Vitality area to the consumers attention.

The article titled “Health Imposters” said of fruit bars;

Even if they say they are 100% fruit, fruit bars don’t have the water, fibre or vitamin content of fresh fruit.

We had one client (Australian Food Innovators) – the only company in the world, that could dry fruit and produce a fruit bar that was nothing but 100% real fruit with nothing (inc Sulphur, preservatives etc) added in the process at all and retained the full fibre and nutritional makeup of real raw fruit. Sure it didn’t have the full amount of water … but some of the water extracted in drying was added back before being made into a convenient very healthy snack.

So whilst most bars that call themselves fruit bars don’t come close to real fruit at least one does. But it doesn’t stop all the rest making the claims and therefore creating false perceptions.

Another client VibroGym produced the original and most researched Whole Body Vibration Platform. Now there are hundreds of copies – varying greatly in quality. Vibrogym invested plenty in getting volumes of university research done to support claims re the benefits of Whole Body Vibration Training. The machine was the first and only to be approved as a medical device in Europe and Australia in terms on Bone Density improvements, Cortisol reduction etc.

Now every other machine out there makes all the same claims re the research despite working and feeling vastly different from VibroGym. So why pay $15,000 for VibroGym (who employ Physios, Exercise Physiologists etc.) when you can buy one off TV shopping networks for less than $1000??

Another client PhysioTherm produces the Rolls Royce of Far Infra Red Cabins/Sauna. Made of the best timber and using the best heating elements backed by scientific research. But you guessed it. There are hundreds out there making the same claims and leveraging the same research for their cheap imitations.

Why pay $5,000 plus for the finest workmanship backed by research from a company that is a specialist when you can go to the Hardware store and buy one made from fine Burmese timber treated with God only knows what for $1000??

As such, whilst once upon a time being first to market and staking a claim to owning a category was vital it certainly doesn’t pay in the Vitality business. Others simply copy the product or bastardise the claims to suit their specific needs.

But … whilst reading and understanding the basics of labels etc is important some due diligence and research before buying products to improve your Wellbeing and Vitality is time and money well spent.

As always if it seems too good to be true, it generally is.

It’s Time to Change…

Sickness - by Sempre Vivace

The timing of our launch of The Vitality Equation Company just happens to coincide with major reviews of the Health Care systems of the US and Australia.

While the aim of our company is to bring innovative products to the market that help deliver quality and quantity of life (longevity with vitality), political debate continues about how much we can afford to keep spending on sickness.

While there are a few politicians that are prepared to not just listen but act with a focus on prevention, it still seems there are more votes to be gained in Australia by delivering more hospital beds, more doctors, more drugs and more medical research to find cures that will support the profits of drug companies.

It is interesting that most people are happy to donate hard earned money for this research which, at best, results in drugs that were developed by companies making huge profits. Then to allow for those drugs to be affordable to the people that “need” them, the taxpayers are forced to subsidise these drugs. Perhaps the drugs could be made cheaper if the drug companies slashed their enormous marketing budgets … or perhaps we don’t really need most of the drugs anyway.

I don’t get it … but I digress!!

In a week where I have read that under the scheme being proposed by the Rudd Government in Australian to revolutionise Health Care there is to be little more than a token effort in the prevention area. In particular we may see every school have a full time Nurse who will be there to help prevent childhood obesity. Pardon my mirth!!

In a survey last year the Nursing profession rated among the worse in terms of health – being well over the national average in terms of overweight and obesity, smoking, lack of exercise etc. I am not criticising Nurses as they do a great job, one that most of us could not even consider, but surely they are not equipped or trained or experienced to promote a healthy lifestyle based on what I see and hear.

In the US there is much debate over President Obama’s moves to overhaul the Health Care system. Much of the change is being driven in an effort to reduce expenditure given the impact of the GFC. While the general efforts are to be applauded as there is a focus on prevention … because among other things it is cheaper … it is clear that the older you get in future the less reliant on the Government you should expect to be.

But the good news is its not that hard.

In the US (and Australia is much the same) some 75 percent of health care costs are accounted for by heart disease, diabetes, prostate cancer, breast cancer, and obesity. What these five diseases and conditions have in common is that they are largely preventable and even reversible by changes in nutrition, physical activity, and lifestyle.

Dr. Dean Ornish told the US Senate health committee: “Studies have shown that changing lifestyle could prevent at least 90 percent of all heart disease. Thus, the disease that accounts for more premature deaths and costs Americans more than any other illness is almost completely preventable, and even reversible, simply by changing lifestyle.”

In a recent article a member of that Committee – Democrat Senator Tom Harkin said – It’s not enough to talk about how to extend insurance coverage and how to pay for health care – as important as those things are. It makes no sense just to figure out a better way to pay the bills for a system that is dysfunctional, ineffective, and broken. We also have to change the health care system itself, beginning with a sharp new emphasis on prevention and public health. We also have to realize that wellness and prevention must be truly comprehensive. It is not only about what goes on in a doctor’s office. It encompasses workplace wellness programs, community-wide wellness programs, building bike paths and walking trails, getting junk food out of our schools, making school breakfasts and lunches more nutritious, increasing the amount of physical activity our children get, and so much more.

I am heartened by the fact that the major players in this endeavor – Democrats and Republicans alike – all “get it” when it comes to prevention and public health. We all agree that it must be at the heart of reform legislation.

As President Obama said in his speech to Congress earlier this year: “[It is time] to make the largest investment ever in preventive care, because that’s one of the best ways to keep our people healthy and our costs under control.”

Hopefully this plan will deliver and hopefully the politicians in Australia will also see the light soon … and realise that the Australian Medical Association may be more a part of the problem (how does a doctor make money if people stop getting sick so often??) than they are a potentail player in delivering the solution.

Nurses in schools to fight obesity??????

How about programs like Fit2Play developed by people like Mike Georgalli, people who care rather than people who play the politics!!!