Smart Spot

According to this reprinted NYTimes article, the Smart Spot program has been around for about a year, but it was only just this evening that I saw the Smart Spot label on a bottle of orange juice and decided to look into the program.

Turns out it’s a PepsiCo labeling program to highlight the healthier products the company produces. It’s part of the company’s marketing strategy, but could also be seen as a kind of insurance against potential litigation should obesity-related cases make it to court on the same health-related basis that enabled plaintiffs to sue cigarette companies.

Exploring the Smart Spot site revealed some interesting tools, one of which was a “balance” tool. Choosing a meal and an exercise produces a report on whether you’d gain weight with that combination of intake and expenditure. I personally found the calculations a bit suspect, not the least because there’s no data backing up the statements. For example, bicycling is listed as a moderate activity, while rollerblading is listed a high energy activity. I suppose it’s all relative to your particular exercise level and the intensity of the activity.

More worrisome is the implication that as long as your calorie expenditure is greater than your calorie intake, you’re doing OK. While such tactics may make sense when talking solely about weight loss, nutrition is much more complex. Personally, I see the word choices and phrasings used through the Smart Spot site (such as ”...active, healthy programs…”) as indicative of PepsiCo’s position: let’s focus on active lifestyles and not so much on the food end of things.

There are several other interesting aspects about the site, such as what criteria a food product needs to fulfill to receive the label (remembering, of course, that both the food products and the criteria are created by PepsiCo), but there’s not enough room to cover it all. Let’s just leave it at this:

People need real information to make real decisions. Placing a label on an item is a start, but more information must be in place to support informed decision-making. This is an issue of both customization (making information relevant to the particular needs and situation of the reader) and authenticity (to verify the accuracy of your claims), but also an issue of planning and support. People are smart, and with the right support in place they can change their habits and lifestyle. The food manufacturing industry just needs to realize this…oh, and that no amount of labeling is going to make KoolAid a healthy alternative to, say, an apple.

In all seriousness, big companies can play a large role in helping to address some of the larger issues facing society today. It’s just that sometimes the rhetoric doesn’t meet reality, and cynicism sets in. For instance, as part of the Smart Spot program, PepsiCo is building playgrounds around the country for kids. That’s great, but the press releases makes some claims which are a little hard to digest: “this playground will ensure our children stay physically active and establish healthy habits to last a lifetime.” I’m sure there’s a grain of truth in that statement, but from the way they make it sound, playgrounds are the long-ignored, secret weapon against obesity and unhealthy habits in general. If that were the case, McDonald’s would be building Playplaces like crazy.