The Krispy Kanary in the Orthopedic Mine is singing
BY EDITOR, NOVEMBER 24, 2003
Like much of orthopedics, Krispy Kreme sells a lifestyle product. And the basic emotion encompassed in that product is comfort. For eighty five cents, Krispy Kreme delivers a nearly perfect, melt in your month donut and, with that, a happy, if expanding, stomach. Last quarter, Krispy Kreme, which is a public company, reported that its sales rose 29% to $251 million and that earnings rose 43%. Put more simply, Krispy Kreme sold 66 million more donuts last quarter than it did in the previous year bringing the total sold last quarter to 295 million donuts.
Each donut, by the way, has over 200 calories, 12 grams of fat (liquid fat – that's why it melts in your mouth) and 22 grams of carbohydrates. Multiply those numbers by either the 66 million incremental donuts sold or the 295 million total sold in just the last three months and, well, someone is gaining a lot of weight.
What is correlation between donut sales (and other modern eating habits) and diabetes, weight gain and, eventually, knee, hip and back pain? Positive and, we believe, rising.
The U.S., European and Japanese populations are gaining weight. Indeed, every society that adopts a sugar and carbohydrate diet (and what food epitomizes this more than the Krispy Kreme donut?) gains weight.
Lots of studies show that excess weight triggers health risk factors and complications including type 2 diabetes, dyslipidemia, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and such orthopedic problems as Blount's Disease (bowed legged deformities) and accelerated vertebral, knee and hip deterioration.
Will these trends change? No. Consumers like these foods. Everywhere, even China. Marketing sugar and fat is so profitable, what's going to stop it? Nothing. Weight related hip, knee and vertebral deterioration – independent of aging – will continue to rise in the U.S., Europe and Japan and... with the rising economic power of China... there as well.
The signs, we think, are everywhere. Even in a Krispy Kreme quarterly report.
