This was a time of dramatic lifestyle changes: urban development, expansion of the service sector and more and more women working outside the home.
With all these things happening at once, consumers’ attitudes towards food became more complex, as did their expectations.
As people led more sedentary lives and used up less energy, they needed fewer calories.
Under the slogan “Sugar is energy. We need it for life” a campaign was launched to persuade the public that sugar could be part of a balanced diet to keep body and mind in good shape.
Sugar came under fire from doctors and nutritionists whose strongly worded condemnation contributed to a powerful “anti-sugar wave”. A prime example of this was the British nutritionist John Yudkin whose book about sugar was entitled Pure, White and Deadly.
The sugar industry responded with a major press campaign encouraging readers to offset their calorie intake with physical exercise, like gardening, playing ping-pong, walking up the stairs in the Métro.
"Don’t deprive yourself, exert yourself!" (1979)