5-to-10 a day
A sample of the poster for the campaign
5-to-10 a day is a health campaign in Canada to promote the healthy eating habit of consuming 5 to 10 servings of fruits and vegetables daily, therefore titled as such. 5-to-10 a day is implemented by the Canadian Produce Marketing Association (CPMA) and is delivered through a variety of media, whereby it adopts a combination of print media, television and radio advertisements and a website. The aim of the campaign is to create awareness of the importance of consuming fruits and vegetables as well as encourage Canadians to change their eating habits to live a healthier lifestyle (5-to-10 a day, 2006).
Canada sees over 130,000 deaths annually to cancer and cardiovascular diseases and the total cost of healthcare just for this two illnesses amount to more than $32 billion yearly. The American Institute for Cancer Research and the World Cancer Research Fund collaborated and conducted a study on diet and cancer prevention, coming to a conclusion that consuming 5 servings or more of fruits and greens everyday could decrease overall cancer incidence by at least 20%, while many other studies also concluded that plant foods can lower high blood pressure, cholesterol and the risk of coronary heart diseases (5-to-10 a day, 2006). However, it is found that only a minority of Canadians eat at least 5 servings of fruits and greens. Hence, this campaign is essential not only to raise the awareness of eating healthily but also to reduce cancer and cardiovascular diseases rates in the long run by cultivating a habit of consuming fruits and vegetables daily (5-to-10 a day, 2006). 5-to-10 a day targets people of all ages.
Besides advertisements on television and posters placed in public places, there is a comprehensive website to emphasize the significance of eating healthily. This is in stark contrast to a similar campaign in Singapore (the 2 + 2 campaign) whereby only television commercials are used to promote the consumption of fruits and vegetables. The Canadian campaign thus gains the upper hand as compared to its counterpart as websites are more informative as compared to plain television ads. The 5-to-10 a day campaign website is also very interactive with creative tips and recipes for eating fruits and vegetables. Instead of just emphasising on "why" we should ingest fruits and vegetables, there is a stronger focus on "how" we can do that. This is a twist from conventional health campaigns whereby health behaviours are enforced through fear appeals and constant reminders of what unfortunate events that will happen if one fails to do it. Quirky and interesting details about fruits and vegetables are also thrown in to grab people's attention about the unappealing greens. Adopting a wide variety of media to promote the campaign is therefore one of the advantages of the campaign.
The website of 5-to-10 a day and Freggie Tales respectively.
Another plus point of 5-to-10 a day will be its zealous attempt to appeal to the entire population. Apart from the main website where information are provided for the general population, with specific segments for healthcare professionals and housewives, there is also a sister side named "Freggie Tales" which caters to the younger generation of age 5 to 12, for them to learn about 5-to-10 a day in a more vibrant and exciting manner. Engaging materials like comic strips and cartoons are employed to tell children the benefits of eating vegetables and how fruits can be as tasty as other types of snacks. We feel that enforcing health behaviours during childhood is a more practical way to ensure a higher prevalence of continuing the health behaviours in later years. Hence, we applaud the CPMA for their fervent attitude in advocating the kids to consume their fresh produce. On the other hand, the adults are not being let off easily as well, because aside from perpetual reminders on television and the papers, they will also be encouraged by their health practitioners to take more fruits and vegetables if they are at risk of developing chronic illnesses.
This all-rounded approach undoubtedly makes the campaign more effective as it leaves a bigger impression on the citizens, resulting in a 52% brand awareness nationwide (CPMA, 2008).
The logo for 5-to-10 a day.
However, high brand awareness among the citizens does not mean that people actually do follow what it is recommended of them. According to the health belief model, to engage in a health behavior will depend on the one's personal health threat and one's perception that the health behavior will reduce this health threat (Taylor, 2009). This campaign highlights the need to eat fruits and vegetables to reduce the risk of contracting chronic illnesses like cancer, but referring to the health belief model, if people do not think that they are susceptible to cancer and heart problems, it is unlikely that they will pick up the good practice of taking at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables. We think that this is the main weakness of the campaign and feel that it is better if fruits and vegetables consumption are encouraged on the basis of them having the potential of being delicious foods instead of persuading people to eat them to lessen the risk of illnesses. The latter seems like there is a subtle tone of "forcing".
Nevertheless, this health campaign is generally successful, and we hope that Singapore's Health Promotion Board can learn a thing or two from their Canadian counterpart and apply it so as to better promote this good health behaviour in Singapore.
Click here to visit the website for 5-to-10 a day.
Click here to visit Freggie Tales.