That natural-looking sliced turkey you buy from the grocery store may not actually be very “natural.”

The Associated Press reports that fast and processed food makers have been trying their hardest to make products look “imperfect” in an attempt to convince consumers that they’re just as natural or fresh as a home-cooked meal. For instance, McDonald’s makes the eggs in its “Egg White Delight McMuffin” look sloppy and uneven — unlike the eggs in regular McMuffins, which tend to resemble hockey pucks.

Food makers use these disingenuous tactics knowing that consumers equate “imperfect” with “natural.” As Michele Simon, a public health lawyer, told the Associated Press, “They can’t change the fact that they’re making processed products so they have to use these other tricks to pretend.”

Kraft Foods went so far as to spend two years perfecting a chopping machine that cuts the company’s “Carving Board” line processed turkey portions in uneven slabs, instead of perfect slices, to replicate leftovers from a home-cooked meal.

These foods are not the same as their fresher and more natural counterparts. Fast and processed foods typically contain ingredients meant to preserve them, such as hydrogenated oils, brominated vegetable oils, artificial sweeteners, salt, and sulfites — many of which can lead to negative health consequences including heart disease and cancer.

Food makers have consistently used smokescreens to deceive customers into thinking their products are healthy. Panda Express, Taco Bell, and Burger King have all employed deceptive marketing techniques that make their menu items seem healthier than they actually are. For instance, Burger King’s “game-changing” turkey burger option still weighs in at 530 calories. McDonald’s “McWrap” uses green packaging to play on customers’ perception of healthy foods — even though some versions of that wrap still contain over 600 calories.

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday sharply criticized the food industry’s decision to market its unhealthy products to children, saying that strategy has been “disastrously effective” at fueling the global obesity epidemic. The United Nations health agency called for tighter regulation in this area to prevent corporations from advertising fatty, salty, and calorie-heavy foods to kids.

In a new report on food marketing, WHO Europe points out that even though junk food has been linked to obesity-related health issues, companies use new technology to target these kind of products to kids. “Children are surrounded by ads urging them to consume high-fat, high-sugar, high-salt foods, even when they are in places where they should be protected, such as schools and sports facilities,” Zsuzsanna Jakab, the director of the WHO’s regional unit for Europe, explained.

WHO tracked advertising for sugary drinks, sweetened breakfast cereals, cookies, candy, snacks, and fast food outlets. The agency found that television is still the most common medium for these ads, and notes that children are especially vulnerable to that strategy because they cannot always distinguish between advertisements and cartoons like adults can. WHO explains that, since food corporations know how to exploit children’s interests by using their favorite cartoon characters to market their products, kids are “particularly receptive and vulnerable to messages that lead to unhealthy choices.”

Most of WHO’s European member nations have already signed a pledge to prevent food companies from marketing to kids, but the United Nations agency believes there need to be more specific, comprehensive guidelines to make the effort successful. The WHO report points out that this is a crucial part of combating childhood obesity.

Here in the United States, a staggering 80 percent of teens are on their way to developing heart diseases because their diets are too high in salt, sugar, and fat. Nevertheless, the FDA has lagged behind when it comes to cracking down on food and beverage companies’ advertising practices. Fast food companies continue to aggressively market their products to children, particularly low-income children of color.

Some companies have pledged to take it upon themselves to stop marketing junk food to kids. Walt Disney Co, for example, has decided it will no longer accept these kind of advertisements on its television, radio, and online programs. But some of the biggest culprits, like McDonald’s, won’t admit they have an advertising strategy that relies on selling unhealthy products to children. “We don’t sell junk food,” McDonald’s CEO claimed just last month, when he was confronted by a nine-year-old girl who asked him why he continued to market fast food to kids like her.

In the American Medical Association (AMA)’s current policy session, the leading doctors’ group is weighing whether or not to officially classify obesity as a “disease.” While that move wouldn’t carry any legal ramifications, medical authorities speculate that it could encourage more private and public health insurance programs to offer health benefits for obesity as a standalone condition — and not just for obesity-related health problems, as many do now.

In 2004, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) removed language claiming that obesity was not a disease from its official manual and guidelines. Public health advocates interpreted that as a tacit endorsement of treating obesity like a disease, and hoped that would lead to more research into effective obesity-fighting tools and encourage states and insurers to fund benefits through Medicaid and private insurance. But a comprehensive 2010 analysis of public and private insurance programs’ policies towards obesity concluded that “most states are not ensuring recommended screening and treatment of adults and children for obesity through Medicaid, the [Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic, and Treatment (EPSDT) program for Medicaid-eligible children], or private insurance.”

There are currently three main coverage categories for treating obesity: nutritional consultation, drug therapy, and bariatric surgery. According to the journal Public Health Reports, only eight states’ Medicaid programs cover all three categories, and 20 states’ programs explicitly exclude nutritional consultation for obesity. The most commonly covered category is bariatric surgery, which is far more expensive and invasive than preventative nutritional counseling or drug therapy — which is the least-covered category — would be. In the private insurance market, the report found that “few states have passed legislation requiring coverage of obesity treatments” and that some even explicitly exclude covering it as a disease.

Without comprehensive coverage, individuals end up having to pay to separately manage each of chronic conditions that stem from obesity, such as diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease. That’s not just cumbersome and expensive for Americans, whose obesity rates are at epidemic levels — it’s costly for health entitlement programs, too. Obesity-related illness makes up anywhere from 10 to 12 percent of all health insurance spending, including 11 percent of Medicaid expenditures.

That’s why proponents of the new AMA resolution argue that officially labeling obesity a “disease” could spur change and “result in greater investment by government and the private sector to develop and reimburse obesity treatments.” Medicaid is a particularly important vehicle for giving Americans access to health coverage for obesity-related health problems, since the poor are far more likely to be obese than wealthier Americans who usually have private insurance through an employer.

An ad campaign meant to combat obesity in California features a pudgy little girl drinking a packet of sugar and smiling. Below her, the ad warns: “Sugary drinks like juice, sports drinks and soda can cause obesity. Choose milk and water instead.”

However, the little girl in the ad has put on the pounds not because of too much sugar, but because of too much Photoshopping. First 5, the government-run healthy kids initiative, doctored a photo of the same girl drinking milk to make her look much heavier than she actually is. San Francisco resident Marilyn Wann noticed the alteration and posted a side-by-side comparison on her Facebook page (above). Wann asked, “How creepy is it to Photoshop this child in this manner? If public health messages lie like this, why should people trust them?”

The campaign has a version of the same ad for the Vietnamese community, featuring an overweight Asian child:

First 5 defended the altered photos, arguing they were only trying to “show parents the real-life consequences of obesity and what sugar can do to our children’s lives.”

The ads are deliberately targeted at poor minority communities, which generally have much higher obesity rates. Black, Latino and Asian children in poor urban areas are already being targeted by junk food companies, leading one 9-year-old girl to confront the McDonald’s CEO over their deceptive marketing to kids last week.

What’s more, these ad campaigns — which notably feature little girls — contribute to the body-shame epidemic that has started earlier and earlier among girls. According to researchers, girls as young as 5 years old are obsessed with body image, while eating disorders are becoming more common. The trend is growing rapidly; the percentage of girls who believe they must be thin to be popular rose from 48 percent to 60 percent in just 6 years.

As Jezebel points out, extensive studies show that shaming overweight children doesn’t actually help them lose weight. In fact, many scientists doubt that anti-obesity advertising campaigns have any noticeable impact on people’s behavior.

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Wondering how much fat is in that burrito? Google wants to make it a little easier to find out.

The search giant announced that beginning Thursday, consumers will have easier access to “extensive nutrition information” for more than 1,000 common foods. The list includes basics such as meats and vegetables, and even not-so-basics like chow mein.

On one of its official blogs, Google posted some examples of what the detailed search results will look like once the feature is fully implemented:

The company also explained that, over time, it would be “adding more features, foods, and languages” to the service. The current iteration is voice command-compatible and even displays a drop down menu that includes foods similar to what a user searches for.

This isn’t the first time that Google has modified its core services in an effort to promote public health. Google searches related to suicide automatically bring up the national suicide hotline, and activists have been urging Google to implement a similar policy for searches about eating disorders.

Studies have shown that having more knowledge about foods’ nutritional content corresponds with lower obesity rates.

Last week, a 9-year-old girl asked McDonald’s CEO Don Thompson why his company continues to market junk food to kids. Thompson assured her that McDonald’s doesn’t sell junk food, pointing out that the chain also offers some healthy options like salads. But that may not be true for long.

At an investor conference on Wednesday, Thompson noted that the chain is struggling to convince customers to choose its “healthier” options, like Bacon Ranch and Southwest Chicken salads. Altogether, salads make up only 2 to 3 percent of McDonald’s sales in the United States. “I don’t see salads as being a major growth driver in the near future,” Thompson admitted.

The fast food chain is considering scaling back its advertising focused on salads. Thompson suggested that McDonald’s advertising strategy should instead be focused traditional meat products, like hamburgers and chicken sandwiches. As Bloomberg News reports, Thompson pointed to “other ways” to sell fruits and veggies, like pointing to the tomatoes, cucumber slices, and shredded lettuce in the new McWraps.

McDonald’s introduced its McWrap specifically in an attempt to appeal to young customers who are looking for more nutritious options. The new wraps play on public perceptions of healthy food, but they’re not actually that much better than McDonald’s other fare. The Crispy Chicken & Bacon McWrap, for example, actually contains more calories than Quarter Pounder with bacon and cheese.

McDonald’s has already dropped Fruit & Walnut salads from its menu, and it’s also considered getting rid of the Caesar salad. More salad products may get the axe if sales don’t improve. On the other hand, Thompson noted that McDonald’s Dollar Menu is still extremely successful, generating 13 to 14 percent of its total sales. That’s perhaps part of a larger trend in which access to healthy food is divided along socioeconomic lines. Poorer Americans often live in areas where they aren’t close to grocery stories with high-quality food, and can’t afford the transportation to get there — and fast food restaurants have traditionally exacerbated that dynamic by marketing their cheap, unhealthy food in low-income areas.

As the Baby Boomer generation begins to enter their senior years — the first Baby Boomers to hit 65 years old passed that milestone in 2011 — analysts are warning that the impending demographic shift could put a serious drain on the nation’s health resources. Seniors already tend to consume more health care than younger Americans, but Baby Boomers are also expected to be sicker and live longer than previous generations.

Since the United States is continuing to grapple with growing rates of chronic diseases like obesity and diabetes, an aging population could soon signal a health care crisis, a new report from the United Health Foundation finds. “This is a really important time in our nation’s history for us to take a look at this demographic change and the health and behavior outcomes for this population. If we don’t measure it, we won’t know what to do about it,” Rhonda Randall, one of United Health Foundation’s senior advisers, explained.

After analyzing multiple sources of government data, the report found that nearly 8 in 10 seniors are currently living with at least one chronic health condition. And many of those health issues stem from the nation’s ongoing struggle with obesity. About 25 percent of seniors are obese, 20 percent have diabetes, and more than 70 percent have heart disease. Since obesity rates among those ages 50 to 64 increased 8 percent between 1995 to 2010, the next generation of seniors will likely experience higher rates than current seniors do.

The states with the worst health outcomes for seniors are concentrated in the South, where seniors are more likely to live in poverty and lack access to the health treatment they need:

Treating those health issues for an aging population won’t come cheap. Americans over 65 spend three to five times more on their health care than adults younger than 65 — and that demographic sector will explode as Baby Boomers continue to age. In 2030, when the entire Baby Boomer generation will have turned 65, seniors will make up one-fourth of the entire population. And, since medical advances are now allowing Americans to live longer, 5.8 million of those seniors are projected to be older than 85.

The report’s findings should be “a heads-up to the providers, and a real heads-up to policy makers,” Jennie Chin Hansen, the CEO of the American Geriatrics Society, told USA Today.

The United Health Foundation’s findings echo previous data that has found that Baby Boomers are sicker than their parents’ generation. Although Baby Boomers are living longer than their parents did, their quality of life has significantly declined, thanks in large part to the wide-ranging public health consequences of the persistent obesity epidemic.

At McDonald’s annual stakeholders meeting last week, the company’s top executive received a stern rebuke from an unlikely critic: nine-year-old Hannah Robertson from British Columbia. “It would be nice if you stopped trying to trick kids into wanting to eat your food all the time,” Hannah told the fast food chain’s CEO Don Thompson. “Mr. Thompson, don’t you want kids to be healthy so they can live a long and happy life?”

During the question-and-answer session, Hannah calmly stepped up to the podium to address the head of the fast food chain. “There are things in life that aren’t fair — like when your pet dies,” Hannah explained. “I don’t think it’s fair when big companies try to trick kids into eating food that isn’t good for them by using toys and cartoon characters. It isn’t fair that so many kids my age and younger who are getting really sick with diseases like diabetes and obesity.”

Hannah flew in from Canada to attend McDonald’s meeting with her mother, Kia Robertson, who is a nutrition blogger and activist. In her prepared remarks, the fourth grader explained that her mother has helped teach her that eating healthier foods can be “fun” and “yummy,” and they work on cooking videos together to inspire other kids to eat a rainbow of fruits and veggies. She pointed out that kids who don’t have parents who can teach them about nutrition could end up believing that McDonald’s is a healthy option for them.

Thompson told Hannah — whose favorite food is Brussels sprouts — that he was glad she liked to eat fruits and vegetables. “We don’t sell junk food, Hannah,” the CEO said, pointing out that McDonald’s offers healthy options like apple slices and salads.

But Hannah and her mother weren’t impressed with Thompson’s response to her question. “I don’t think he answered it very well, because he just kept saying the same things over and over again like, ‘We don’t market to kids and we don’t sell junk food,’” Hannah told ABC News. Her mother added that it seemed like the McDonald’s executive was dodging Hannah’s question to pretend that his company’s brand is healthier than it actually is.

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People assume they can eat larger portion sizes of foods labeled “healthy,” even when those foods actually have the same amount of calories as the “non-healthy” versions, according to the results from a new study. The research project was an attempt to assess whether food companies’ marketing efforts to brand their products as healthier have an impact on consumer choices.

Researchers asked 186 adults to determine the appropriate portion sizes of both “healthy” and regular brands of different foods. The participants tended to serve themselves larger portions of the “healthy” food, and they also tended to underestimate the amount of calories that were actually in it. The study’s researchers attribute these behaviors to the effective marketing strategies that the food industry uses to convince people that even processed foods aren’t so bad if they’re being touted as healthier options:

“People think (healthier food) is lower in calories,” said Pierre Chandon, a marketing professor at the INSEAD Social Science Research Center in France, and they “tend to consume more of it.”

That misconception can lead to people eating larger portion sizes of so-called healthy foods, and therefore more calories.

“Foods are marketed as being healthier for a reason, because food producers believe, and they correctly believe, that those labels will influence us to eat their products and perhaps eat more of their products,” said Dr. Cliodhna Foley Nolan, the director of Human Health and Nutrition at Safefood, a government agency in Ireland.

The new study builds upon previous research that found that green labeling is “coded” as healthier — so when a product is marketed in green packaging, Americans tend to assume it has fewer calories, even if it’s a product like a candy bar.

As Americans continue to grapple with an ongoing obesity epidemic, fast food companies in the United States have attempted to use these type of marketing tactics in order to rebrand themselves as healthier choices Popular chains like McDonald’s, Panda Express, Taco Bell, and Coca-Cola have all attempted to improve their national image by offering up “healthy” options — even though they haven’t actually changed much about the actual nutritional content of their products.

Coca-Cola unveiled a new anti-obesity campaign Wednesday, pledging to better regulate its advertising to children and ensure clear nutritional labeling is available on its drinks around the world.

In the U.S., calorie counts for Coca-Cola products are displayed on the front of drink labels and no-calorie diet versions of drinks are readily available, but in other countries, there’s not as much consistency in product labeling and the availability of diet drinks. Coke’s new push aims to remedy that, and will also halt all advertising targeted at audiences younger than 12.

Coke, which is based in Atlanta, also announced Wednesday that it would contribute $3.8 million to support nutrition education and physical activity programs in Georgia. Most of the money will go toward the Georgia SHAPE program, an initiative that works with k-12 school districts to increase students’ physical activity, and the Centers of Hope program, which connects at-risk students to physical activity and leadership development programs.

While the pledges and donations help improve Coke’s public image, they don’t address the core of the the company’s public health problem: the increasing body of literature that has linked soda and other sugary drink consumption to diabetes, obesity and even death. Even diet drinks — which Coke lauds as some of its healthier options — have been tied to negative health effects, like an increased risk of heart attack, stroke, heart disease, high blood pressure, obesity and Type 2 diabetes.

And despite Coke’s public relations campaign, the company, through the American Beverage Association (ABA), has historically fought against public health efforts to increase government regulation of the soda industry. The ABA has lobbed against soda taxes and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s proposed ban on large soft drinks.

Coke’s most recent efforts come on the heels of an anti-obesity advertising campaign launched by the company in January, which featured TV ads that acknowledged America’s obesity problem and pointed out steps the Coke had taken — including creating smaller portion sizes for its drinks and sponsoring children’s programs such as the Boys and Girls Club — to address the issue. The ad ends by explaining that “all calories count, no matter where they come from,” a claim that sparked an outcry among critics, who point out that calories from soda are entirely empty calories from added sugar and contain no nutritional value.