Diabetes and obesity are, unfortunately, growing national trends that have many consumers looking to cut fat from their diet. Pizzerias across the country are feeling the pinch as pizza is often singled out as a “bad” food. Pizzeria Uno, one of the country's bigger chains, took pizza’s image problem so seriously that it dropped any mention of pizza from their name last October. The chain is now called Uno Chicago Grill.

Indeed, the percentage of all restaurant meals that were purchased from a pizza restaurant fell to 9.10 percent in 2005 and has been steadily declining since 2000, when the figure was 9.89 percent according to market researcher, the NPD Group. By contrast, traffic at sandwich and hamburger restaurants for the same time period has risen. And nationally, same-store sales at pizzerias have been flat for two years, according to a recent study by this magazine.

However, the move toward healthier eating doesn’t have to leave out pizza. Operators across the country are finding ways to market pizza to people suffering from both diabetes and obesity, as well they should. The numbers get your attention: Sixty-five percent of American adults are overweight or obese, 17 million Americans have Diabetes (6.2% of the U.S. population) and 16 million more Americans are considered pre-Diabetic. Retail sales of sugar-free foods & beverages reached $8 billion in 2002 and are projected to reach $10 billion by 2007. So how does pizza compete in the face of such statistics?

In crust we trust

In order to understand why pizza is getting a bum rap, it’s helpful to know how the body reacts to pizza. Valley Food Services, (VFS) a national food service management company based in Jackson, Mississippi, has had its dieticians study pizza. VFS dietitian Lorine Lorino has been quoted in pizza industry press reports as saying that wheat crust causes the body to create less sugar than traditional white crusts.

"The body breaks down white flour faster, which can raise sugar levels," Lorino said in a release. "Wheat causes a slower process, which doesn't make sugar levels spike."

Bungo's, a pizzeria in Cleveland, Tenn., took those numbers to heart. Owner Steve Sandberg has stated in press reports that he has a family history of diabetes, so he decided to create a healthy pizza.

"There are not a lot of choices for diabetics," Sandberg is quoted as saying. His pizzeria is his area's only take-and-bake shop. "I knew there had to be something we could do at Bungo's to help that part of our community. Creating healthy pizza is sort of our niche."

Bungos’s whole-wheat pizza has 15 grams of carbohydrates, Lorino said, adding that a diabetic on a 1,800-calorie diet needs approximately 75 grams of carbohydrates per day.

"More diabetics are finding other choices with their breads," Lorino said. "A slice of wheat pizza could be an alternative choice." Lorino states that pizzerias could advertise a special “heart-healthy” pizza that is made using a nonfat cooking spray. Lorino also suggests fresh vegetables and chicken as plausible pizza toppings for diabetics. Canadian bacon can also be used, she said.

So who are the villains?

While it's true that a lot of pizza ingredients like tomatoes, onions, tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese and crust can fit into a heart-healthy diet, others ingredients fall far from the "healthy foods" list such as pepperoni, extra cheese, sausage or Alfredo sauce. Even these high saturated fat, high-sodium foods can fit into a healthy diet when eaten in moderation. The only problem is that "moderation" is not in the vocabulary of most pizza makers. After the extra cheese, cheese-stuffed crust, extra thick and crispy crust, "meat-lovers" portion of sausage, ham, pepperoni and bacon are tacked on, you've packed a whole week's worth of your allotted saturated fat. And that's only in a two-slice or 8-ounce serving.

To further illustrate this, the Cleveland Clinic Heart and Vascular Institute, one of the top heart research facilities in the country, (treating a quarter of a million patients a year) recently took a survey of top pizza brands. Their findings showed just how big the gap is between pizza and daily saturated fat and calorie allotments. The survey is based on a 12-inch medium sized pizza:

If you were following a 1,600-calorie diet and decided to have two slices of Pizza Hut's Meat Lovers pizza, you'd consume:

43 percent of your total daily calorie needs
65 percent of your total fat allowance
116 percent of your saturated fat allowance (the most villainous number of all)
70 percent of your daily sodium allowance

And that's just two slices. Most of us consume more than two slices, putting us even further into "fat-debt." Now, let's say you choose the Pizza Hut Veggie Lovers pizza:

30 percent of total daily calorie needs
36 percent of total fat allowance
50 percent of saturated fat allowance

43 percent of daily sodium allowance

The Cleveland Clinic became so alarmed at the numbers, it actually sought – and gained - the departure of some of the biggest names in fast food from its campus cafeteria, including Pizza Hut.

The Hut fights back

Responding to increasing concerns about obesity, the major pizza chains have been posting nutritional information about their products on the web. One chain, Pizza Hut went a step further. Perhaps in response to the action of the Cleveland Clinic, Pizza Hut of Fort Wayne, Indiana is now offering a “Lite Bite Menu” topped exclusively with veggie mozzarella. This makes the Fort Wayne store the first in the chain to include a heart-healthy alternative. Veggie mozzarella is saturated fat-free, cholesterol-free, transfatty acid- free and lactose-free.

"Today's customer continues to look for healthy alternatives in their daily diets,” said Ralph Wilson, director of operations of Pizza Hut of Fort Wayne.

“We've spent considerable time and energy to find a great tasting product that allows our customers the freedom to enjoy our menu items while cutting their calories, saturated fat and cholesterol. Our Lite Bite Menu provides that answer," he continued. The Pizza Hut Lite Bite Menu includes healthy toppings such as chicken, green peppers, onions, mushrooms, and roma tomatoes, as well as the selection of all traditional pizza toppings available at Pizza Hut.

‘Healthy Pizza’ not an oxymoron

While no one is suggesting operators junk their entire menus to become heath food outlets, there are other ways to provide dieters with delicious pizza, according to Rita Mitchell of the Department of Nutritional Science at the University of California at Berkeley.

“Pizza is one of those things that can be a healthy food, but it depends what’s on it,” says Rita Mitchell in the Department of Nutritional Science at University of California at Berkeley.
“It can be heavily laden with fat and calories and have very little nutrients,” she adds. “In general, one of the big things about pizza is the fat content.” On the other hand, notes Mitchell, “cheese also has calcium, which is a nutrient that tends to be lacking in the diets of most Americans.”
Mitchell suggests that pizza retailers can adjust the ingredient mix to offset fatty toppings. That can show up as a slice of pepperoni pie with hardly more fat than the plain cheese pizza, meaning the amount of cheese is reduced on the pizza with the fatty meat topping. When that’s the choice, Mitchell tilts to the cheese-only pie for the benefit of its higher calcium content. Besides fat, ingredients like pepperoni are high in sodium and preservatives.

Which brings us to carbohydrates, the latest American obsession. Carbs are not nearly as much of an issue as fat, says Mitchell. A large slice of Domino’s pizza with 28 grams of carbs uses up less than a tenth of what Mitchell states is a typical daily 300-gram adult allotment. Still, for those who count carbs, the thickness of the crust is key. That Domino’s slice falls to 14 grams on a thin-crust pizza.

Mitchell concludes that, with slight variations in preparation, pizza can shake off “bad guy” rep.

“Pizza can be enjoyed as part of a healthy diet,” declares Mitchell. “But I wouldn’t go off every day to get slice of it with pepperoni.”

Healthy Marketing

Operators can market heart-healthy menu changes the same way they would anything else, through coupons, giveaways, fliers and in-store promotions. Another way is to team up with health organizations. For example, Mio's Inc., a franchise covering, Ohio, Virginia and Kentucky, works with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. The JDRF is the world's leading funder of diabetes research. Each year Mio’s hosts “The Walk to Cure Diabetes,” a walkathon held in 170 locations, which last year, raised over $57 million. The chain even came up with a heart-shaped pizza to promote the walk.

Another operator doing their part is The Bistro 258 in Ogden, Utah. The Bistro, owned by Chefs Todd Ferrario and Michael Attento, will be supporting No Limits Cycling. No Limits Cycling Club is a small team of cyclists who later this year will bicycle to all 50 state capitals in 50 weeks, encouraging, promoting, and inspiring healthy, active lifestyles for all people with diabetes.

The Chicago Pizza Company, a 146-unit pizza chain based in Williard, Ohio has developed a non-pizza menu item to help bring customers into their stores who are looking for healthy alternatives. The chain has unveiled a Turkey Peppercorn sub sandwich that features honey smoked turkey and is very low in fat.

“Now we're able to round out our menu for our customers who want a heart-healthy alternative,” said East of Chicago Vice President of Marketing, Dennis Stevenson.

Pizza isn’t going away, even in these health-conscious times. But with preparation changes, solid marketing, and a tasty product, the bottom line doesn’t have to flat line.

Sidebar:

Marketing Tips from the Heart

Offer reduced cheese on certain pies, this cuts the fat substantially.
Offer nutritional information on your website
Offer chicken or ham as toppings as they are leaner choices than pepperoni and sausage.
Offer pies without ingredients such as pesto sauce, eggplant and sun-dried tomatoes, which tend to be high in fat.

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