The industry of soda beverages has had a major impact on the health of its consumers, and it has donated to almost 100 health groups, from the American Diabetes Association to Save the Children, as part of the Corporate Social Responsibility campaigns.
The scientists in the field have been putting pressure on the health organizations not to accept any more money from these lobbying activities. The effects of these apparently charitable actions can involve the power to put pressure on these organizations when it comes to acting to reduce unhealthy sugar consumption, according to new research.
"From 2011 to 2015, the Coca-Cola Company and PepsiCo were found to sponsor a total of 96 national health organizations, including many medical and public health institutions whose specific missions include fighting the obesity epidemic," explained Daniel Aaron and Dr. Michael Siegel of Boston University in their report, which appeared in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
While in no more than four years almost 100 national health organizations were sponsored, a team of researchers discovered in September 2016 that sugar lobbyists also funded research on the role of sugar in heart diseases in the '60s. According to them, the situation is comparable to the one of the tobacco industry minimizing the dangers that come along with smoking.
According to Marion Nestle, a New York University professor of public health, the mechanism is to first deny the impartial scientific work, and then find healthy alternatives to compensate for profoundly unhealthy lifestyles. Her opinion is shared by the researchers publishing the report on the CSR money effects on health care.
During the last two years, the American Beverage Association has given millions of dollars to fighting laws that would tax and label sugary beverages. Only in 2015, Coca-Cola faced an accusation of investing in misleading research that suggests exercising over diets when it comes to weight loss. The research was conducted by an NGO using Coca-Cola funds.
According to the report, reducing soda consumption can massively contribute to the decrease of the American obesity rates. Until this paper, there has been no coordinated effort toward systematically cataloguing the sponsorship activities of soda companies, the implications of which are dire.
Not only did the two companies sponsor national health and medical organizations that conducted health studies, but also lobbied against the regulations and interventions that would contribute to the healthiness of Americans in 97 percent of the cases.
Aside from being a conflict of interest, these actions confirm that the interests of the beverage companies are not to promote a healthier lifestyle, which questions the ethics of both their representatives and the ones of the health organizations receiving money and taking part in their marketing plans.
