It’s pretty common knowledge that lack of exercise and an unhealthy diet both contribute to obesity and some chronic diseases. But wouldn’t it be convenient for the largest producer of sugary beverages if scientific evidence suggested exercise was the more prominent factor, and what you eat and drink doesn’t play as big of a role?
That would sure help out Coca-Cola, which is why it has partnered up with scientists and provided financial and logistical support to a new nonprofit organization called the Global Energy Balance Network, according to The New York Times.
“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,” the group’s vice president, Steven N. Blair, an exercise scientist, says in a recent video announcing the new organization. “And there’s really virtually no compelling evidence that that, in fact, is the cause.”
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Many health experts strongly believe that things like sugary beverages are a major contributor to the development of Type 2 diabetes and childhood obesity, which is why many schools are pulling them from their cafeteria drink options. For this reason, Coca-Cola has already lost profits, and as the cause continues to gain momentum, they could end up losing a lot more.
“Coca-Cola’s sales are slipping, and there’s this huge political and public backlash against soda, with every major city trying to do something to curb consumption,” Michele Simon, a public health lawyer, told The Times. “This is a direct response to the ways that the company is losing. They’re desperate to stop the bleeding.”
The organization, led by Dr. Blair, who is a professor at the University of South Carolina whose research over the past 25 years has formed much of the basis of federal guidelines on physical activity, and Gregory A. Hand, dean of the West Virginia University School of Public Health, say Coca-Cola is not running the organization. But as The Times pointed out, Coca-Cola donated $1.5 million last year, and the organizations website, gebn.org, was registered to the Coca-Cola headquarters in Atlanta.
Dr. Blair claims that there isn’t a conflict of interest with the research because they are transparent about the Coca-Cola funding. But the organization’s website reportedly didn’t disclose that funding, among other sources, until it was pointed out by Dr. Yoni Freedhoff, an obesity expert at the University of Ottawa. It was then added.
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“As soon as we discovered that we didn’t have not only Coca-Cola but other funding sources on the website, we put it on there,” Dr. Blair told The Times. “Does that make us totally corrupt in everything we do?”
It’s not uncommon for beverage and food companies to fund research, but with that comes a likelihood of bias.
The Times reported:
Funding from the food industry is not uncommon in scientific research. But studies suggest that the funds tend to bias findings. A recent analysis of beverage studies, published in the journal PLOS Medicine, found that those funded by Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, the American Beverage Association and the sugar industry were five times more likely to find no link between sugary drinks and weight gain than studies whose authors reported no financial conflicts.
While exercise is clearly beneficial to our health, research not funded by Coca-Cola indicates that without changes to diet, there aren’t significant results.
In one of the most rigorous studies of physical activity and weight loss, published in the journal Obesity, scientists recruited 200 overweight, sedentary adults and put them on an aggressive exercise program. To isolate the effects of exercise on their weight, the subjects were instructed not to make any changes in their diets.
Participants were monitored to ensure they exercised five to six hours a week, more than double the 2.5 weekly hours of exercise recommended in federal guidelines. After a year, the men had lost an average of just 3.5 pounds, the women 2.5. Almost everyone was still overweight or obese.
It’s not entirely clear how much of the funding through the years has gone straight into the pockets of the professors involved. But it’s hard not to believe there is a self-serving, financially-motivated agenda in play here with the organization and Coca-Cola.
Watch the promotional video for the Global Energy Balance Network below.
Photo: Flickr user Mike Mozart
