Saturday 17 September 2011

Express reveals another 'miracle'

Here we go again:


Yes, it's another Express front page headline about health that promises to reveal some great secret. The sub-heading sounds promising: 'Experts develop a miracle diet that is key to saving lives'.

And what is this 'miracle'? Well:

Taking more exercise, eating more fruit and vegetables, reducing alcohol intake and slashing the amount of saturated fat in our diet

This may sound a tad familiar. In August, the paper revealed that 'experts' had found the 'secret' to a longer life. It was:

Not smoking, regular exercise, not being overweight and eating a Mediterranean-style diet.

And in June, the Express claimed there was an 'easy way to lose weight' and this 'secret' was being revealed just in time for summer. The secret?:

eat a lot more “natural” foods, such as fruit and vegetables, whole grains, nuts and yogurt, while avoiding anything processed...cut out fizzy, sugar-sweetened drinks...Exercise reduced weight, while alcohol added.

Today's front page about heart disease is attached to an article written by Jo Willey. She begins:

The secret to fighting heart disease was revealed by experts last night.

'Last night'? Did people really not know that exercise, fruit and veg were good for your heart before 'last night'?

Willey goes on to explain that this 'miracle diet' is actually a 'healthy living plan' called 'Ultimate Cholesterol Lowering Plan', which has been produced by the charity Heart UK.

But their press release on the Plan is dated 1 September. So not only are the general tips very well known, the specific plan is actually two week-old news.

And that is what they Express has decided to lead on.

Unfortunately, they haven't explained where the 'free chocolate mousse' fits into this 'miracle diet'.

4 comments:

  1. Doesn't chocolate mousse count as one of your 5-a-day?

    1. Chocolate mousse
    2. Half a chocolate mousse
    3. Another chocolate mousse
    4. The other half of that chocolate mousse
    5. One more chocolate mousse

    It may get a bit repetitive, but then again Express readers are obviously used to repetition...

    ReplyDelete
  2. Maybe the chocolate mousse is in place of the exercise part of the diet.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Going by previous Express 'free' (i.e. promotional) food for this year, your five a day should be things like doughnuts, Belgian buns, Cadbury's Flakes, bacon and biscuits.

    ReplyDelete
  4. This "groundbreaking" Heart UK plan isn't just good PR for the charity, they're in collaboration with the soya milk company Alpro UK, too. So comercial outfits also benefit from the Express's churn. Nice. I believe this is called "advertising equivalent exposure".

    ReplyDelete

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