Press Room

THE ISPA 2004 SPA INDUSTRY STUDY - EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Medical treatments and spas represent a key growth area. Over the past two years, the medical spa segment has been the fastest growing (in terms of locations) in the industry. In addition, many spas in other segments have been adding these types of treatments.

Does food 'addiction' explain explosion of obesity?

Nora Volkow of the National Institute on Drug Abuse says overeating is a complex behavior beyond addiction. Experts plan to address the question this week at a conference in New Haven, Conn.

By Nanci Hellmich, USA TODAY

Obesity has long been blamed on weak willpower, overeating, genetics and lack of exercise. Now scientists increasingly are seeing signs that suggest there may be an additional contributor: food addiction.

Monday night and again today, dozens of the nation's leading researchers in obesity, nutrition and addiction planned to discuss whether food has addictive properties for some people. They're gathering in New Haven, Conn., at a meeting sponsored by Yale University's Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity. "We believe that there is sufficient science to suggest there is something to this, so we are bringing the leading authorities together to decide whether food addiction is real and what the underlying psychology and biology might be," says Kelly Brownell, director of the Rudd Center.

"It's surprising that our field has overlooked this concept for so long," he says. "Society blames obesity only on the people who have it and has been close-minded to other explanations." Support for the idea of food addiction comes from animal and human studies, including brain imaging research on humans, says Mark Gold, chief of addiction medicine at the McKnight Brain Institute at the University of Florida, who is a co-chair for the meeting.

In a medical setting, "we evaluated people who were too heavy to leave their reclining chairs and too big to walk out the doorway," he says. "They do not eat to survive. They love eating and spent the day planning their new takeout choices." Psychiatrist Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, a speaker at the meeting, says the research in this area is complicated, but most people's weight problems aren't caused by food addiction.

Some studies focus on dopamine, a neurotransmitter in the brain associated with pleasure and reward. "Impaired function of the brain dopamine system could make some people more vulnerable to compulsive eating, which could lead to morbid obesity," Volkow says. She did groundbreaking research in this area while at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven (N.Y.) National Laboratory. For some compulsive eaters, the drive to eat is so intense that it overshadows the motivation to engage in other rewarding activities, and it becomes difficult to exercise self-control, she says. This is similar to the compulsion that an addict feels to take drugs, she says. "When this occurs, the compulsive eating behavior can interfere with their well-being and their health."

But there are many differences between addiction to drugs and the intense compulsion for food, she says. Food is necessary for survival, and eating is a complex behavior involving many different hormones and systems in the body, not just the pleasure/reward system, Volkow says. "There are multiple factors that determine how much people eat and what they eat."

She does not believe that most people are overweight because their brains' dopamine systems don't function properly. There are many causes of excess weight, including unhealthful eating habits, lack of exercise, genetic vulnerability and stress, she says.

Although there is no official definition of food addiction, Gold defines it in much the same way as other substance dependence: "Eating too much despite consequences, even dire consequences to health; being preoccupied with food, food preparation and meals; trying and failing to cut back on food intake; feeling guilty about eating and overeating."

He believes some foods are more addictive than others. "It may be that doughnuts with high fat and high sugar cause more brain reward than soup." Others pooh-pooh the idea of food addiction. "This is a dumbing down of the term 'addiction,' " says Rick Berman, executive director of the Center for Consumer Freedom, a group financed by the restaurant and food industry. "The term is being overused. People are not holding up convenience stores to get their hands on Twinkies.

"Lots of people love cheesecake and would eat it whenever it's offered, but I wouldn't call that an addiction," he says. "The issue here is the intensity of people's cravings, and those are going to differ."

SUBWAY PILES ON SUCCESS

Fred Deluca has propelled submarine sandwiches to the forefront of the fast-food industry, taking Subway Restaurants from a single store to nearly 28,000 franchises worldwide.

Fred Deluca failed to achieve his goal of becoming a medical doctor. While trying to earn money for college, however, he stumbled into a business opportunity that has become one of the country's leading fast food franchises. With a $1,000 loan from family-friend Dr. Peter Buck in 1965, 17-year old Deluca opened his first sandwich shop in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Initially called Pete's Super Submarines, Deluca eventually changed the business' name to Subway Restaurants. Forty-odd years later, Deluca has parlayed this small store into a company with nearly 28,000 franchises in 86 countries producing over $9 billion in annual sales.

Franchising Key to Phenomenal Growth

After their initial success, Deluca and Buck, a.k.a. Doctor's Associates, Inc., set a goal of opening 32 restaurants in their first 10 years. In 1974, with a store count of 16, they started to think about franchising. In a November 2003 Entrepreneur Magazine article, Deluca stated he quickly realized managers at remote company-owned stores lacked motivation. Franchising seemed to be the solution for stimulating management's interest at stores located away from company headquarters. Today, all 27,775 Subway Restaurants are franchised

U.K. Fitness Market Reaches $5.3 Billion Pound for pound, the industry’s value continues to soar

The U.K. health and fitness sector continues pushing along its progressive path, and is now valued at $5.3 billion. Over the last five years, the industry has demonstrated steady growth, with its value up 5% and demand for health and fitness clubs up 16% according to a report by Market and Business Development, a U.K. – based market- research firm.

This boom time is attributed to several factors – an increase focus on the U.K.’s emerging obesity crisis; a surge in demand for celebrity- led programs; and an uptick in disposable income. All of this growth has resulted in concerns about competition and saturation in the industry, resulting in moderate annual growth levels.

In addition, membership fees have decreased in the private sector, which is translating into more growth in value than in the public sector.

As the U.K. industry expands, a key player will be assuming a lead role. Harm Tegelaars, the former chairman of the U. K.’s Fitness Industry Association (FIA) and a former special advisor to IHRSA’s board of directors, will become president of the European Health and Fitness Association (EHFA) at the end of the year.

STARBUCKS FRANCHISE SUCCESS STORY

Highlighting the Best Franchise Opportunities

Inspired by the coffee-loving culture of southern Europe, the Starbucks Coffee Company has successfully brought its delicious brand of coffee to Americans all over. With an exquisite assortment of whole bean roasts and fine espresso beverages coming from the finest coffee growing regions around the world, Starbucks also boasts a selection of pastries, sweets and even coffee brewing supplies for home use. Yet at one point Starbucks was not as accessible to consumers as it is today. First started up in 1971 as a small store in a Seattle shopping center, Starbucks now, however, is one of the countries - and the worlds - most popular coffee shop chains.

Surprisingly, however, it took over a decade for the business to start expanding. In fact, it was as late as 1983 that Howard Schultz, the marketing and retail director, made a trip over to Italy and discovered the potential for creating a real culture of coffee here in the United States. After running it by the owners, Schultz was able to convince them that Starbucks was the way to bring this trend to North America. Beginning by setting up a shop in the downtown area of Seattle, the number of stores soon grew to about 20 after which Shultz got together with a group of venture capitalists and was able to purchase - and change the name - of Starbucks. The company quickly expanded thanks to a series of wise business moves. These included attaining the important affiliation with Barnes and Nobles booksellers, launching well-executed mail order strategy, and a profitable IPO in 1992. Due to its success, Starbucks has become the model for a whole new type of coffee marketing and beverage culture in America. The amount of Starbucks coffee shops open today numbers just under 6,000 worldwide.

Although Starbucks does not put up franchises for sale, or even engage in sub-franchising, there are certain agreements that interested parties can seek. That's because while the company manages its stores directly, or via subsidiaries, it will also develop business relationships with other corporations, companies or groups of persons. The way it works is that this body is then allowed to build up and manage stores in the prearranged area of business.

For international endeavors, there are a select number of different models of business that Starbucks currently engages in. One of these is the joint venture scheme, in which the company affiliates itself in a mutually beneficial partnership with another organization. Inside the United States, this can be likened to the company's current relationship with Barnes and Nobles.

Another type of structure employed by Starbucks is the license agreement, which gives a smaller company the right to conduct its operations, while being wholly owned by the Starbucks Coffee Company. The third way that Starbucks conducts its international operations is by direct company ownership. In this structure, Starbucks takes the role of the immediate owner and maintains an unobstructed presence in managing and developing the store sights of a particular place of business development and commerce.

FROM THE DESK OF ROBERT KAGAN, MD

“By joining the Rejuvenate Health family you create an environment for optimal emotional and physical wellness. You take responsibility for the way you feel. Consciously and unconsciously you choose how you feel at any given moment. The external world of Rejuvenate can be a mirror of your beliefs and expectations. Through diet and exercise in a harmonious environment you will achieve an emotional wholeness that produces good health. Wellness is trusting in the ability and desire of your body mind to heal and improve itself, if you just give it a chance.”

Bob Kagan MD

Medical Director