World’s largest producer of soft drink, Coca-Cola is backing a new “science-based” solution to the obesity crisis; To maintain a healthy weight, get more exercise and worry less about cutting calories.
The beverage giant has teamed up with influential scientists who are advancing this message in medical journals, at conferences and through social media.
Last year Coca-Cola gave $1.5 million to launch the Global Energy Balance Network (GEBN) nonprofit group to push the idea that Americans spend too much time and energy worrying about what the put in their bodies, and not enough time and energy on exercise.
And it’s not the first time Coke has supported the scientists at GEBN — the founders of the group have received $4 million from Coca-Cola since 2008, A US Daily reported.
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“Coca-Cola’s agenda here is very clear: Get these researchers to confuse the science and deflect attention from dietary intake,” Marion Nestle, a professor of nutrition at New York University, told the US paper.
Other health experts agree that GEBN is a front group for Coke, aimed at distracting consumers from the link between sugary drinks and deadly health risks and to convince people that exercise will make up for an unhealthy diet.
Public health activists have repeatedly voiced concerns over Coca-Cola’s marketing strategy, as recent drops in sales have followed what one public health lawyer called “a huge political and public backlash against soda.”
For their part, Coca-Cola says it encourages researchers to “share their own views and scientific findings, regardless of the outcome,” and insists that they to be “open about our funding.”
