17. Brian C. Wansink, Applied Economics and Management
Marketing Nutrition: Soy, Functional Foods, Biotechnology, and Obesity (University of Illinois Press, 2005). Because consumers already know what they like—regardless of how much they know about the benefits of healthy eating—marketing nutritional foods is very different from marketing toothpaste or any other product. Getting people to consume a diet that is heart-healthy and reduces the risks of obesity, diabetes, cancer, and other diseases has not been an easy task for nutritionists and other health professionals. This fact has resulted in erratic sales for soy foods, weak results for expensive Five-a-Day for Better Health programs, and lots of uneaten vegetables in school cafeterias. Wansink identifies 14 problems that interfere with effective nutrition marketing, such as how people ignore good nutrition and their frustration with the recommendations to eat five servings of fruits and vegetables a day. Wansink addresses each problem with research-based solutions, including suggestions about how to change eating habits by targeting cooks, not consumers; the best ways to introduce new foods into a diet; and what types of health information are most effective. The book is intended for brand managers, health professionals, public policy officials, and researchers.