Coca-Cola Funded Group Peddles "Nonsense" as Science

Statement of CSPI President Michael F. Jacobson

August 13, 2015

The New York Times published a major exposé on August 10 about Coca-Cola setting up the Global Energy Balance Network. A la the tobacco industry, that group appears aimed at confusing consumers about the established science showing that sugar drinks are a major contributor to obesity, heart disease and diabetes. Kudos to The Times for shining a spotlight on this latest attempt to buy science.

To make clear what the science really says, the Center for Science in the Public Interest organized a letter to the editor of The New York Times, which 36 leading research scientists and public health officials and advocates signed. We thank our co-signers listed below.

Michael F. Jacobson, Ph.D.
President
Center for Science in the Public Interest

Lawrence J. Appel, M.D., M.P.H.
C. David Molina, M.D., M.P.H. Professor of Medicine Epidemiology and International Health
Director, Welch Center for Prevention, Epidemiology, and Clinical Research
Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions

Alberto Ascherio, M.D., Dr.P.H.
Professor of Epidemiology and Nutrition,
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

Suzanne M. Babich, Dr.P.H., M.S.
Associate Dean of Global Health
Professor of Health Policy and Management
Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health
Indiana University

George L. Blackburn, M.D., Ph.D.
S. Daniel Abraham Professor of Surgery
Associate Director of Nutrition, Division of Nutrition
Harvard Medical School

Kelly D. Brownell, Ph.D.
Dean, Sanford School of Public Policy
Robert L. Flowers Professor of Public Policy
Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience
Duke University

Carlos A. Camargo, M.D., Dr.P.H.
Professor of Medicine & Epidemiology
Massachusetts General Hospital
Harvard Medical School

Marilyn E. Carroll, Ph.D.
Professor of Psychiatry and Neuroscience
Department of Psychiatry
University of Minnesota

Mark Creager, M.D., FAHA
President
American Heart Association

Bob England, M.D., M.P.H.
Director
Maricopa County (Arizona) Department of Public Health

Caldwell Esselstyn, M.D., FACS
Director, Cardiovascular Prevention and Reversal Program
Cleveland Clinic Wellness Institute

Alejandro Gugliucci, M.D., Ph.D.
Professor and Associate Dean for Research, COM
Director of Sponsored Programs
Touro University-California

Joan Gussow, M.Ed., Ed.D., B.A.
Adjunct Professor
Teachers College
Columbia University

David L. Katz, M.D., M.P.H., FACPM, FACP
President, American College of Lifestyle Medicine
Founding Director, Yale University Prevention Research Center

Robert Lustig, M.D.
Professor
University of California San Francisco School of Medicine

Vasanti Malik, Sc.D.
Research Scientist
Department of Nutrition
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

JoAnn E. Manson, M.D., Dr.P.H.
Chief, Division of Preventive Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital
Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School

Barbara J. Moore, Ph.D., FTOS
President and CEO,
Shape Up America!®

Marion Nestle, Ph.D., M.P.H
Professor of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health
New York University

John D. Potter, M.D., Ph.D.
Member and Senior Advisor, Division of Public Health Sciences
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
Professor Emeritus of Epidemiology
University of Washington

Goutham Rao, M.D.
Vice Chair for Academic Affairs
NorthShore and University of Chicago Departments of Family Medicine

Bill Reger-Nash, Ed.D.
Professor Emeritus,
West Virginia University School of Public Health

Eric Rimm, Sc.D.
Professor of Medicine
Harvard Medical School
Channing Division of Network Medicine
Brigham and Woman's Hospital

Jeffrey Ritterman, M.D.
Assistant Clinical Coordinator
Joint M.S.P.A.S./M.P.H.
Touro University

William C. Roberts, M.D.
Executive Director, Baylor Heart and Vascular Institute
Dean, A. Webb Roberts Center for Continuing Medical Education
Editor-in-Chief, The American Journal of Cardiology and Baylor University Medical Center Proceedings

Frank Sacks, M.D., Sc.B.
Professor of Cardiovascular Disease Prevention
Department of Nutrition
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

Marlene Schwartz, Ph.D.
Director
Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity
University of Connecticut

Meir Stampfer, M.D., Dr.P.H.
Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School
Professor of Epidemiology and Nutrition, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Assoc Director, Channing Division of Network Medicine
Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital

Lyn Steffen, Ph.D., M.P.H., R.D.
Associate Professor of Epidemiology
University of Minnesota School of Public Health
Division of Epidemiology and Community Health

Mary Story, Ph.D., R.D.
Professor of Global Health and Community and Family Medicine
Duke University

Y. Claire Wang, M.D., Sc.D.
Associate Professor,
Health Policy & Management,
Columbia Mailman School of Public Health

Jean Welsh, Ph.D., M.P.H., R.N.
Assistant Professor
School of Medicine
Emory University

Walter Willett, M.D., Dr.P.H., M.P.H.
Frederick John Stare Professor and Department Chair
Department of Nutrition
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Professor, Department of Medicine
Harvard Medical School

Jake Williams, M.S.
Executive Director
Healthier Colorado

Grace Wyshak, Ph.D.
Professor of Psychiatry,
Harvard Medical School
Professor of Biostatistics and Global Health and Population
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Biostatistics and Global Health and Population

Lisa R. Young, Ph.D., R.D.
Adjunct professor of Nutrition,
New York University

Jeff Zayach, M.S.
Executive Director
Boulder County Colorado Public Health