Coca-Cola is funding a new scientific solution to obesity that spreads the message that one should exercise more and worry less about counting calories, The New York Times reports.
To promote the message, Coke has provided financial and logistical support to a nonprofit organization called the Global Energy Balance Network. The message will be advanced in medical journals, at conferences and through social media.
According to New York Times, Steven N. Blair, an exercise scientist, said in a recent video announcing the new organization, "Most of the focus in the popular media and in the scientific press is, 'Oh they're eating too much, eating too much, eating too much' - blaming fast food, blaming sugary drinks and so on. And there's really virtually no compelling evidence that that, in fact, is the cause."
However, Health experts are critical of the message that they say is misleading and part of the company's effort to deviate the criticism that sugary drinks have a huge role in the spread of obesity. In the last 20 years, the consumption of full calorie sodas by Americans has dropped by 25 percent, largely due to the efforts to remove these drinks from school and prevent companies from promoting these drinks among children.
Since 2008, Coke has funded close to $4 million for various projects to two of the organization's founding members: Dr. Blair, a professor at the University of South Carolina and Gregory A. Hand, dean of the West Virginia University School of Public Health. However, Dr. Blair and other scientists affiliated with the group said that Coke had no influence over its work or message.
Past studies suggest that funding from the food industry often leads to biased findings. A recent analysis of beverage studies, published in the journal PLOS Medicine, revealed that the studies funded by Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, the American Beverage Association and the sugar industry were five times more likely to find no direct link between sugary drinks and obesity than studies non funded by any such organization.
