The Radial Group

You've heard of Alli, right? It's the new over-the-counter weight loss drug that offers "intestinal leakage" if you continue eating a high-fat diet while taking the drug.

I happened to visit a local mall this weekend and was astonished and fascinated to see Alli being marketed with the fanfare normally reserved for movies. It's all part of the "Alli Tour" (yes, that's what they're calling it) - coming soon to a shopping mall near you.

Huge banners hung all over the mall, as you'll see below (these images are cropped a bit to fit - just click them to see the full image):

Here's the first enormous banner:

And I've circled four more in red - there were actually a total of seven more banners hung from the rafters:

And then....there was the blindingly white booth. Picture a standalone booth - I figure around 20' x 20', give or take:

And a couple of shots of the inside:

Although you can't see it in either of these pictures, the signage at the main entrance emphasizes Alli's approval by the FDA. It's staffed by folks who hand out materials and chat with visitors - not sure what their training is. The overall effect is quasi-clinical.

They also gave me a very nicely (and expensively) packaged packet of information that contained a recipe card, a 140+-page guide to losing weight through lifestyle change, a sheet of refrigerator magnets (sample: "If you don't buy it, you can't fry it"), a two-week meal plan, a data sheet on orlistat (Alli's active ingredient), a shopping list pad, and a few other goodies.

The materials talk about healthy eating and exercise plus the usual lifestyle hints - but this kind of marketing budget tells the tale. While you have to look long and hard to find GlaxoKlineSmith's name anywhere on the materials, make no mistake: this is another massive product launch brought you by Big Pharma. And despite the cynical emphasis on the "most important ingredient in successful weight loss: you", it's clear that GSK is marketing this to folks looking for a silver bullet. After all, if diet and exercise had worked, they wouldn't be interested in Alli, right?

What are you hearing from your clients and customers? Are people trying this? Are they cynical or optimistic about it?

Post your comments below (and don't worry - we won't display your email).

Posted by Leslie Nolen at 10:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

You can see more examples of the "We Are Not Joggers" campaign on the Pearl Izumi site.

I'd love to hear your thoughts...is this in excruciatingly bad taste? Is it dismissive of folks who are just trying to do their best to stay active? Or is it a great celebration of those with a real passion for running?

I'll withhold my opinion for the moment so I don't bias your take on it.

What do you think? (We ask for your email to discourage spammers - but don't worry, we won't display it.)

Posted by Leslie Nolen at 10:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

What do health policy advisors for Clinton, Romney, Obama, Guiliani, and other major candidates have to say about the nation's obesity epidemic? What's the nation's financial future if the obesity epidemic continues?

On Wed., Sept. 19, you can watch a free webcast of "The Obesity Challenge: What the Next President Should Do", which will be presented on the Kaiser Foundation's website.

The conference, scheduled from 8:30 am to 3:00 pm, will include roundtable discussions with presidential campaign health policy advisors for the major Democratic and Republican presidential candidates (tentatively scheduled at 10:00 for the Democrats and 11:00 for the Republicans.)

Check the Kaiser Foundation's healthcare website for the final detailed schedule on Monday, September 17. The website itself is a great resource full of info about candidates' positions on healthcare policy issues.

If you're in or near DC, you may be able to attend in person. It's at the Jack Morton Auditorium at The George Washington University.

It's sponsored by The Obesity Society, the Strategies to Overcome and Prevent (STOP) Obesity Alliance at The George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services, and the National Journal.

Posted by Leslie Nolen at 09:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I don't need to see the statistics. I grew up in Mississippi - where a third of the population is now obese.

And I can tell you something's changed for the worse in the 25+ years since I was in high school.

When I was in high school, my class of 200 people had only two members who were obese. Very few kids were overweight, period. Back then, the common wisdom was that only people with a rare pituitary problem were morbidly obese (anyone else remember those naive days?).

I had lunch in a small restaurant here in Dallas a couple of days ago, and on the way to the table I counted six people who were morbidly obese - and plenty of others were well above their healthy weight.

Every weekend, I see literally dozens of kids at unhealthy weights - and I have no trouble believing that 20-30% are obese, because I see round little kids everywhere that are red-faced, out of breath, and struggling just to keep up with the other kids.

We're doing a lousy job of improving this situation.

Personally, I think that's due to two reasons:

1) everyone thinks it's someone else's job

Employers are starting to financially penalize employees for certain higher-risk health behaviors. Now, I don't know if that's the right answer or not - in fact, I have some concerns about unintended consequences from policies like these. But one organization criticized the policy because "our society encourages people to be sedentary."

Come on! Inactivity is nothing more or less than a zillion tiny personal decisions throughout the course of a day. No one made you hire a lawn service instead of doing your own yardwork. No one made you block traffic for 5 minutes waiting to get the absolutely closest spot at the grocery store. No one made you take the elevator instead of the stairs. For most of us, inactivity is a choice. It's not dictated by our environment.

(And don't get me started on kids drinking sugary soda at every meal...)

That said, no argument that many of us lead much more sedentary lives now. In fact, on average we eat FEWER calories than we did at the turn of the century. It's just not enough less to offset the decline in physical activity.

2) our industry's doing a poor job of connecting with consumers

Too much data. Too much generic advice. Not enough easy-to-understand, bite-size guidance tailored to specific groups of consumers.

Yet translating all the science and all the data into information that consumers actually use has a huge impact.

For the last year, a grocery store on the East Coast has labeled every single food product in the store with 0, 1, 2, or 3 stars, where 3 stars is the healthiest choice. Products with more stars sold more...and customers bought less of the no- or lower-starred items. So something as simple as a star changed behaviors.

(More on the program here).

Ironically, a recent story on this effort quoted a leading nutrition expert who was surprised that something this simple - with so little actual information - would affect people's behavior. Grrr! She just doesn't get it. That's EXACTLY what works - and that's WHY it works. Just like 100-calorie packs. Most folks don't need or want all the details (heck, they don't even understand the nutrition label, right?).

What have you seen that's working - or not? What actions can we as individuals and as health and wellness professionals and businesses take? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Post your comments below (you have to provide your email address, but we don't disclose it).

Posted by Leslie Nolen at 01:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)