Coke Spends Lavishly on Pediatricians and Dietitians
New York Times | ANAHAD O’CONNOR | 28 SEPTEMBER 2015
When the American Academy of Pediatrics needed support for a website it created to promote children’s health, it turned to a surprising partner: Coca-Cola.
The world’s largest maker of sugary beverages, Coca-Cola has given nearly $3 million to the academy over the past six years, making it the only “gold” sponsor of the HealthyChildren.org website. Even though the pediatric academy has said publicly that sugary drinks contribute to the obesity epidemic, the group praises Coke on its website, calling it a “distinguished” company for its commitment to “better the health of children worldwide.”
Abstract: While Coke said that only $29 million, or less than 25 percent of the grant money, was used for academic research, the money has already begun to shape the international debate around obesity. 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.
