The world’s largest producer of sugary beverages “is backing a new ‘science-based’ solution to the obesity crisis” – exercise more and worry less about calories – says the New York Times. It says Coca-Cola “has provided 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.” Health experts say the message is misleading and diverts attention from the role that sugary drinks, such as soda, have played in obesity.
“Records show that the network’s website, gebn.org, is registered to Coca-Cola headquarters in Atlanta, and the company is also listed as the site’s administrator,” said the Times. The group’s president said Coca-Cola registered the site because the scientists in the group didn’t know how. “They’re not running the show,” James Hill, a University of Colorado professor, told the Times. Nutrition professor Marion Nestle described the network as “nothing but a front group for Coca-Cola.”