Day 269 - 25 Jun 96 - Page 08
1 message that McDonald's would present to their consumers.
2
3 Q. Right. So you are talking about the message they are
4 putting over, not you saying that the food has a beneficial
5 nature?
6 A. No, I am talking about the message that they would put
7 to their customers.
8
9 Q. "2.1 meals eaten per week.
10 In 1990 there were 169,514 deaths from heart disease in the
11 UK (British Heart Foundation)."
12 A. That refers to this document which I got from the
13 British Heart Foundation.
14
15 MR. MORRIS: The coronary heart disease statistics. It also
16 includes statistics on cancer.
17
18 MS. STEEL: "In the lower socio-economic groups, death from heart
19 disease is more than two times more likely than in the
20 higher (British Heart Foundation statistics). There is a
21 similar socio-economic stratification for cancer. In the
22 UK lower socio-economic groups (IV, V) the social trends in
23 chronic illnesses are again at about 43%, twice those of
24 the upper groups (I, II)."
25
26 MR. JUSTICE BELL: What do you mean by the social trends?
27 A. The contrast, my Lord, by people to put it in
28 extremes. A manual worker or somebody who is lowly paid on
29 low incomes in what the Department of Health and Social
30 Security, rather, describe as class 5 as opposed to 1 and
31 2. So you can look at the individual social classes
32 according to the statistical definitions of the Department
33 of Health and Social Security and you can see what is
34 done. You see that there is a different risk for heart
35 disease across the socio-economic stratification.
36
37 Q. Yes, that is what I thought you were saying. I understood
38 that, but when you say "are again at about 43%, twice those
39 of the upper groups", what is the 43%?
40 A. The 43% is the incidence of chronic illness in the
41 lower socio-economic groups.
42
43 Q. Chronic illness of any kind?
44 A. Of any kind, yes.
45
46 Q. Yes. Thank you.
47 A. The specific concern that we have in our work is, of
48 course, this low birthrate where again you have the same
49 problem and that is stratified socio-economically.
50
51 MS. STEEL: "As far as the direct impact of saturated fats and
52 trans isomers are concerned, our own data in the east end
53 indicate that the high risk sector of the UK population can
54 obtain up to 30% of their dietary energy from 'take-away'
55 sources. This is likely to apply to other inner cities
56 regions of the UK where McDonald's have made the greatest
57 inroads.
58
59 Hence mortality from heart disease is greatest in the
60 sector of the population using McDonald's and other similar
