The hook for More Matters

Above, the gavel passes from Jan DeLyser to Mike O'Brien on Sunday..

More Matters is officially launching at this very hour. Already, this morning a Google search brings up more than 100 stories about Fruits and Veggies: More Matters.

The PBH meeting over the weekend was the best kind of industry meeting, full of vision, passion, enthusiasm for the mission by committed volunteer leaders. It is clear that PBH is clearly banking on this More Matters brand to be the vehicle for industry promotion for years to come, and that's exciting.

At a round table discussion yesterday of the national fruit and vegetable program steering committee in San Francisco, Bill Dietz, director of CDC's Division of Nutrition and Physical Activity in Atlanta, concluded with a point about obesity and the More Matters campaign.

"A final point is that I think we need to be cautious about (the link) between fruits and vegetables and (reduced incidence of) obesity. I don't think we need the obesity hook to make it work. We need to be mindful of the potential adverse effect of linking (greater) fruit and vegetable consumption to reduced incidence of obesity. Consumers may dismiss the message if the data doesn't support it. We just need to be cautious about using the approach that increased fruits and vegetable intake may be related to lowering the risk of obesity."

Although some early studies have shown that increased fruits and veggie intake can lower the risk of obesity, Dietz isn't comfortable with the data so far. Rather, More Matters is a winning message because nine out of ten Americans don't eat the recommended servings of fruits and vegetables.