It all comes down to money: the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics was funded by Coca-Cola until 2015. It sprinkles the “energy balance” buzzwords throughout its publications.
One of its programs is a joint venture with the Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation whose sponsors are:
Bumble Bee Foods, LLC, Campbell Soup Company, ConAgra Foods, General Mills, Inc., Kellogg Company, Kraft Foods, Inc. (now split into Kraft Foods and Mondelēz International), Mars, Incorporated, McCormick & Company, Inc., Nestlé USA, PepsiCo, Inc., Post Foods/Ralston Foods, LLC, Hillshire Brands (previously Sara Lee Corporation), The Coca-Cola Company, The Hershey Company, The J.M. Smucker Company, and Unilever. The retail outlets represented are big box stores such as Walmart and Kroger. (8)
Talk about a conflict of interest.
The Politics of Sugar
There are many examples of the politicizing of sugar and how supposed respected health agencies promote Big Soda. They are in direct contrast to the science behind the impact of added sugars and artificial sweeteners in your diet. We’ll get to that a little later.
The American Journal of Preventive Medicine published this research in 2016:
“From 2011 to 2015, the Coca-Cola Company and PepsiCo were found to sponsor a total of 95 national health organizations, including many medical and public health institutions whose specific missions include fighting the obesity epidemic. During the study period, these two soda companies lobbied against 29 public health bills intended to reduce soda consumption or improve nutrition.
“There is surprisingly pervasive sponsorship of national health and medical organizations by the nation’s two largest soda companies. These companies lobbied against public health intervention in 97% of cases, calling into question a sincere commitment to improving the public’s health. By accepting funding from these companies, health organizations are inadvertently participating in their marketing plans.” (9)
Makes it hard to know whom to trust, doesn’t it?