The problem of obesity

Here are some eyebrow-raising quotes from the Financial Times on 28 October:

• It's five years since 'the ranks of the obese overtook the number of malnourished in the world'.
• 'The global bill for type 2 diabetes alone … will, on some estimates, approach an annual $500bn by 2030.'
• 'Unlike tobacco, moderate consumption of food and drink is not only harmless, but also necessary.'
• '60% of the world's nations have an economic output lower than the annual turnover of the top five food and beverage companies.'
• 'Producers are themselves removing fats, sugars and salt by the truckload.'
• Denmark, which recently 'imposed the world's first fat tax … highlighted something of an anomaly'. It 'also produces relatively slim people' … with obesity 'lower than the European average'.
• 'Denmark's favourite television nutritionist offers an attractively simple alternative: why not just drop value-added tax on healthy food instead?'.

Richard Hall is chairman of Zenith International. You can also read his blog at BevBlog.