Day 296 - 07 Nov 96 - Page 39


     
     1   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Well, it may be more palatable to take X
     2        calories of fat from animal foods than from the very large
     3        amount of vegetable foods, I will call them, which would be
     4        required to produce the same amount of calories.
     5
     6   MS. STEEL:   Right.  That it would be easier to exceed your
     7        calorific recommendations if you are eating a diet high in
     8        animal products and thus high in fat rather than one that
     9        was high in vegetable and grain products.  Obviously, that
    10        would encourage over-eating or over-consumption of calories
    11        because of also the bulk factor.
    12
    13        Obviously, in terms of the effect that has on the
    14        likelihood of obesity, that in turn, as we have heard from
    15        just about all the witnesses that gave evidence about
    16        cancer, that the more obese you were, the greater the risks
    17        of cancer and obviously heart disease.  But I should think
    18        that is accepted all round.  I think through the admission
    19        McDonald's have made themselves, that is accepted from the
    20        word go.
    21
    22        The evidence of Professor Keene in relation to that, he was
    23        giving evidence about diabetes and, you know, he accepted
    24        that obesity was -- about the causal relationship between
    25        obesity and diabetes or the increased risk factors.
    26
    27        Dr. Lobstein referred to the, I think it was a British
    28        Market Research Bureau survey - in actual fact this was the
    29        one I mentioned earlier - where figures quoted included 87
    30        percent of fast food eaters, and again it is listed as
    31        McDonald's, Wimpy, Kentucky Fried Chicken and fish and chip
    32        shops, eat fast food at least once a week and that, more
    33        significantly, 31 percent eat it every day.  That is day
    34        32, page 24.  And that 49 percent of those surveyed ate
    35        fast food between one to five times per week.  That was day
    36        32, page 25.
    37
    38   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Can you remember what the survey was, what
    39        sort of people?
    40
    41   MS. STEEL:   I -----
    42
    43   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  I will just put a query.
    44
    45   MS. STEEL:   Right.  We have got to bring our transcripts back.
    46
    47   MR. JUSTICE BELL:   It is obviously significant whether, like
    48        grazing in Peckham, they are actually coming out of a fast
    49        food outlet.
    50
    51   MS. STEEL:   I don't think that one was, actually.  We have got
    52        to bring our transcripts back in.  The figures for the
    53        Peckham fast food survey was that of the people coming out
    54        of McDonald's, which was one of the places where the survey
    55        was taking place, the people coming out of McDonald's on
    56        average ate fast food 4.21 times per week.
    57
    58        I think that whilst these statistics are not the be all and
    59        end all, and I am not just referring to the ones by Dr.
    60        Lobstein but the ones produced by the company as well, they

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