Report: Coca-Cola Funds Research Shifting Blame For Obesity

(RTTNews) - Beverage giant Coca-Cola Co, (KO) is said to be funding scientists who are shifting the blame for obesity away from bad diets to lack of exercise, according to the New York Times. The scientists say exercise is more important than avoiding sugary soda and fast food.

The world's largest producer of sugary beverage is teaming up with influential scientists to push a new mantra of more exercise to stay healthy and as a solution to the obesity crisis. The scientists are promoting this idea through medical journals, conferences and through social media.

Coke is providing financial and logistical support to a new nonprofit organization called the Global Energy Balance Network. This organization promotes a different argument to the weight-conscious Americans that they are overly fixated on how much they eat and drink while not paying enough attention to exercise.

The scientists say Americans always end up blaming fast food, sugary drinks and so on for obesity problems, particularly among kids as well as the youth. However, they say there is virtually no compelling evidence to prove that it is in fact the cause for obesity.

Meanwhile, health experts slam this argument by the scientists and say they are misleading the public and that it is part of an effort by Coke to deflect criticism about the role sugary drinks have played in the spread of obesity and Type 2 diabetes.

This move by coke to mislead Americans comes at a time when efforts are being made to tax sugary drinks, remove them from schools and stop companies from marketing them to children.

In the past two decades, consumption of full-calorie sodas by the average American has dropped by 25 percent.

Coca-Cola has been battling poor sales in recent times due to the huge political and public backlash against soda, with officials everywhere trying to do something to curb soda consumption.

Coke has made a substantial investment in the new nonprofit organization. If reports are to be believed, they donated $1.5 million last year to push start the organization.

Records also 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.