In May 2010, the Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA) and First Lady Michelle Obama announced a commitment with 16 companies in the Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation (HWCF) pledging to take action to reduce 1 trillion product calories by 2012 and 1.5 trillion product calories by 2015. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) served as the independent evaluator of this commitment. 

We are thrilled to see that today, the RWJF announced findings that these food and beverage companies sold 6.4 trillion fewer calories in the United States in 2012 than they did in 2007. This exceeded the HWCF’s 2015 goal by more than 400 percent and translates into a reduction of 78 calories per person in the United States per day.

Leading companies are making real changes by creating new lower-calorie options and have altered packaging to decrease portion sizes to help reduce obesity, and this a solid step forward. These findings also show that not only are companies making changes, but consumers are also leading these efforts as is seen by an increased demand for healthier products. Today’s news is another indication that a major shift is underway in this country in how parents and families make food choices, and we anticipate this is just the beginning.  

Though the HWCF exceeded its calorie reduction role by a significant margin, food and beverage industries should use this momentum to continue their efforts to stock shelves with healthier options and encourage other companies to follow suit. There is much more that can be accomplished by industry and families alike, and we look forward to seeing continuing progress in this space.

The study, which used data collected by researchers from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, is the first large-scale effort to track calories sold by major industries in the American marketplace. The RWJF is a philanthropic organization dedicated to finding solutions to America’s major health and healthcare issues.

Click here to see the full RWJF press release.