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Coke Fighting Obesity?
October 19, 2015
Those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.
-George Bernard Shaw

Coca-Cola has become a major player in the arena of promoting healthy children. According to the New York Times article, "Coke Spends Lavishly on Pediatricians and Dietitians," the soft drink giant has given over $120 million in grants to medical, health and community organizations since 2010. [One grant recipient, the American Academy of Pediatricians has since severed its ties with Coke when members protested the relationship.] For its part, Coke has noted that the company is committed to "helping people understand how to live a healthy, active lifestyle."

The Times reported that this largesse is already paying dividends for Coca-Cola:

"Just last month, Louisiana State University's Pennington Biomedical Research Center announced the findings of a large Coke-funded study of 6,000 children from 12 countries that determined that the major lifestyle factors for childhood obesity around the world were a lack of exercise, not enough sleep, and too much television. Coke has given more than $7.5 million to the university research center or its foundation over the past five years, making L.S.U. the single largest recipient of Coke money since 2010.

"The university's press release was notable in that it did not mention the role of soft drinks in the obesity epidemic.  By comparison, in 2010, the surgeon general listed 'reducing consumption of sodas and juices with added sugars' as the first item on a list of 'healthy choices' needed to improve the health of the nation."






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Comments (3)

Displaying All 3 Comments
geeta bhatt · October 20, 2015
the grand child care center
chicago, IL, United States


Appart from who is paying for the research,one has to be honest in their findings. Some ingredients in Coca cola are used as cleaning agents in kitchen..
But everything should be used in a moderate way. Exercise and healthy diets are MOST important in kids life.

LG · October 19, 2015
Lancaster, CA, United States


Regardless of where the funds come from, research should be conducted thoroughly, which should include the effects of soft drinks. Clearly a soda versus an apple will be digested differently in your body. Soft drinks and juice are empty calories replacing actual nutritious food. It might not make you overweight if you balance the calories out somewhere else, but in terms of health sodas sure aren't making anyone healthier. In essence, Coke is buying silence from researchers. No matter how you feel about drinking soda there's something sneaky about influencing research results with money.

Edna Ranck · October 19, 2015
OMEP-USA
Washington, District of Columbia, United States


None of my children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren is obese. Fifteen years ago when I was overweight because of eating too much food and getting too little exercise, I quite Coca-Cola "cold turkey" and lost 15 pounds in a month. Now, I am underweight, and still love the taste of Coke. I drink no more than five 8-oz. bottles of Coke (500 calories) a week and enjoy it. I dislike the obesity levels of many children and their parents in our country. I also believe that parents and caregivers can control food intake of children up to a point (when they are with others who are not their parents and have money to spend). But turning down research funds from one of the wealthiest companies in the world doesn't make sense. No laws exist that make drinking Coke mandatory; people choose to drink what they consume. I was not allowed Coke when I was growing up nor did I give it to my children. Intelligent choices can be and should be taught. Let's be reasonable and informed.



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