Coca-Cola has decided to tackle the problem of obesity head-on. The world's largest manufacturer of sugary beverages is backing a new "science-based" solution to obesity - to maintain a healthy weight, get more exercise and worry less about cutting calories.
Influential scientists have been encouraged to spread this message in medical journals, at conferences and through social media. Coke is providing financial and logistical support to a new nonprofit organization called the Global Energy Balance Network, which promotes the argument that weight-conscious Americans are overly fixated on how much they eat and drink while not paying enough attention to exercise; the NGO will work with scientists to spread this message.
"Most of the focus in the popular media and in the scientific press is, 'Oh they're eating too much, eating too much, eating too much' - blaming fast food, blaming sugary drinks and so on. And there's really virtually no compelling evidence that that, in fact, is the cause," said the group's vice president, Steven N. Blair, an exercise scientist, according to The New York Times.
This effort to change the mindset of the general population comes at a time when talks are on to tax sugary drinks, to remove them from schools and to stop companies from marketing them to children. The average American has reduced his consumption of full-calorie sodas by 25 percent over the last two decades.
"Coca-Cola's sales are slipping, and there's this huge political and public backlash against soda, with every major city trying to do something to curb consumption. This is a direct response to the ways that the company is losing. They're desperate to stop the bleeding," said Michele Simon, a public health lawyer, according to Dallas News.
Coke has made a substantial investment in the new nonprofit, Global Energy Balance Network. Records show that Coke had donated $1.5 million last year to start the organization.
