Coca Cola gave $1.5 million to scientists who say soft drinks don’t cause obesity
A leading cardiologist says that’s not true at all.
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Tags: Coca Cola, Diet, Obesity, Science, Soft Drinks, Sugary Drinks
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SOFT DRINK GIANT Coca Cola has spent millions funding scientists who argue that people should not cut down on their calorie intake.
A New York Times story published yesterday reported that the American arm of the company spent as much as $1.5 million on the launch of the Global Energy Balance Network (GEBN). The network’s scientists endorse the idea that removing fast food and soft drinks from your diet would not help fight obesity.
Instead, the company wanted researchers to argue that working out more could counter the effects of a bad diet.
One of the founders of GEBN, Steven Blair, argues that “fitness trumps fatness” in a number of videos.
In one released just last week, he said:
“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.”
Blair’s opinion runs counter to a recent study by a group of cardiologists led by Dr Aseem Malhotra of Frimley Park Hospital and the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, which said that people could not outrun a bad diet.
The study, published by the British Journal of Sports Medicine said that “physical activity does not promote weight loss”.
Malhotra took specific aim at Coca Cola in his paper.
Coca Cola, who spent $3.3 billion on advertising in 2013, pushes a message that ‘all calories count’; they associate their products with sport, suggesting it is ok to consume their drinks as long as you exercise.
“However science tells us this is misleading and wrong. It is where the calories come from that is crucial. Sugar calories promote fat storage and hunger. Fat calories induce fullness or ‘satiation’.
The public health messaging around diet and exercise, and their relationship to the epidemics of type 2 diabetes and obesity, has been corrupted by vested interests. Celebrity endorsements of sugary drinks, and the association of junk food and sport, must end. The ‘health halo’ legitimisation of nutritionally deficient products is misleading and unscientific.
For their part, Coca Cola told the New York Times that it has long worked on scientific research relating to its products.
““We partner with some of the foremost experts in the fields of nutrition and physical activity.
“It’s important to us that the researchers we work with share their own views and scientific findings, regardless of the outcome, and are transparent and open about our funding.”
The Times article also points out that this arrangement is far from unique. Pepsi, Hershey’s and McDonald’s have all funded The American Society for Nutrition and the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, a lobby group which has been criticised by medical professionals.
Soft drinks don’t cause obesity though? Lack of self-control does…
Nothing “causes” obesity, maybe an incredibly rare genetic issue that tons of obese people believe they have to justify their lack of consciousness for their well-being, but no food or drink just magically makes you fat. It’s about calories in vs. calories out, and that’s it.
No shit lots of sugar is unhealthy. Lots of anything is unhealthy. Literally anything. If all you ate was fucking oranges daily you would die. If all you ate was spinach, you would die. If all you ate/drank was Coca Cola, you would die. And the funny thing is, is that you can become overweight from eating any of these things in massive excess too. It may be a lot easier to consume too much of something that’s loaded with sugar and other shit vs. consuming too much spinach, but it’s possible.
What makes people fat is that they have no self-awareness, they’re not aware that they’re drinking their 8th fucking coke in a day, for months on end. They’re not aware that they are still moving their hand between a bag of chips and their face while watching TV until there’s no more chips left. They are not aware that it’s only been 15 minutes since their last snack, and maybe 10 minutes between that and the snack they had beforehand.
I was obese for years, currently 4 months into losing a lot of weight, from a family of obese individuals, and seemingly the only one of my family that has opened their eyes and realized how much I fucked up. It is sad as fuck to watch my parents do exactly as I described above, and even more sad to realize I was like that too before I started paying attention to what I was doing to myself.
I can’t blame a soft drink for that. That’s all on myself.
Where coke goes, diabetes follows. Across the world as ‘junk food’ becomes available the highly processed heavily sugared foods cause a steady rise in adult onset diabetes. About 8% of US medical costs are for adult onset diabetes. The ocean of sugar that pour through their bodies for years cause them to become ‘insulin resistant’ Coke is just part of the problem, but, it is a part. When coke plants are built in countries like India, they should build an insulin producing plant next door. The diabetes rates are guaranteed to increase.
Obviously, coca cola is not poison. I drink coke myself, but I have cut way back over the years. Yes, flavored sugar water is pleasant and their are some subtle flavors. ( Some claim they still use a tiny bit of the coca plant – someone is legally buying a certain amount of unprosessed coa leaf from Columbia under US license. ) I don’t even fault coke for paying scientists for advocating exercise and saying ‘drink responsibly.’ But, others have a right to push back with a different idea. Like, how about ‘diabetes taxes’ to pay for the enormous costs associated with ‘junk food’ like Coca Cola?
12oz Coca Cola=140 calories, pH 2.52
12oz 1% milkfat Milk = 154.5 calories, pH 6.5
12oz Orange Juice =165 calories, pH 3.3-4.19
12oz Grape Juice = 210 calories, pH 2.92-3.53
12oz Apple Juice = 169.5 calories, pH 3.35-4.0
I wonder how much Coke will pay me for a little bit of scientific googling.
Well – as long as you don’t drink them.