Functional Foods
(26% of
tracked coverage)
Foods which
might provide health benefits, additional to their basic nutritional value
continue to be a very popular topic in lifestyle press around the region. Thai
magazine interest in functional foods remains high, and in many instances is
misleading and/or inaccurate. Low reporting standards can mainly be attributed
to a tendency to overstate potential benefits of foods, and/or the scientific
evidence of genuine, measurable improvements in health status. Some features
highlighted groups of foods which may be helpful for particular health
objectives, such as eye health, slowing signs of ageing, boosting iron levels;
but more commonly, specific foods and their potential health-giving properties,
were the central angle of stories. Fruits and vegetables were the most
frequently featured foods, and included tomatoes, mangosteens, seaweeds, star
fruit. Beverages, including coffee, black tea and herbal teas were also popular.
Other foods featured were chocolate, seafoods, flax seeds, honey. For more
information on reporting functional foods science, click
here.
Healthy Lifestyles
(16% of
tracked coverage)
This broad
topic of diet and lifestyle characteristics that may extend years of healthy
life (i.e. free from chronic degenerative ill health such as hypertension, heart
disease, type 2 diabetes) gained further media ground, compared to last year’s
tracked coverage (additional 3%). The importance of regularly including physical
activity in the daily routine was emphasised in a number of tracked articles.
Other common themes were strategies to keep body weight under control; tips on
balanced lifestyles that incorporated right diet, exercise, sleep levels, stress
reduction; the multiple health benefits of eating plenty of fruit and
vegetables. For more information, click on AFIC’s consumer leaflet ‘What
You should Know About Dietary Salt, Sodium and Health’.
Children’s diet and health
(10% tracked coverage)
Weight
management was the most common theme tracked in this year’s survey, followed by
strategies for parents to encourage long term healthful eating habits, followed
by foods and diets to maximise cognitive ability. For more information, click on
AFIC’s ‘Kid’s
Bites, Healthy Eating and Activity Guide’ brochure.
Infant feeding
(7% tracked
coverage)
The benefits
of breast feeding were emphasised in many articles included under this heading
and were generally informative and science-based. Weaning advice was also
popular, and related to this, advice on specific foods such as the nutritional
value of eggs, and the inclusion of goat milk in infant’s diet also covered.
Lack of scientific evidence for some of these latter topic features was
apparent. For a balanced overview of early milk feeding and weaning, click on
the link to article by AFIC’s European sister organisation
http://www.eufic.org/article/en/artid/good-start-nutrition-solids/.
Overweight/weight management
(7% tracked
coverage)
Trend
towards more emphasis on sensible weight management based on moderate diet and
regular exercise, and a reduction in focus on weight loss diets, was apparent.
For an overview of personal weight management considerations, go to AFIC’s mini
website on the subject
here.
The Asian Food information Centre
is a not-for profit Singapore-registered organization Its mission is to
effectively communicate sound science based information on food safety, health
and nutrition to the media and other key audiences in Asia.
