12 Oct Study Finds Pervasive Support of Health Organizations By Soda Companies

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Daniel Aaron

Daniel G. Aaron, BS
Department of Community Health Sciences
Boston University School of Public Health
Boston MA 02118

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?

Response: The study began with the co-author and me noticing a few sponsorships of health organizations by Coca-Cola and Pepsi. This drove our curiosity to find out how pervasive these sponsorships were and what they meant for public health.

MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings?

Response: The main findings are the shear pervasiveness of soda company sponsorships of health organizations, as well as the anti-public health lobbying of the Coca-Cola Company and PepsiCo.

MedicalResearch.com: What should readers take away from your report?

Response: The key takeaways are several-fold:
A) Health organizations are becoming unwitting partners in soda company marketing.
B) These sponsorships are a clear-cut conflict of interest, shown by soda companies’ aggressive lobbying against public health legislation. Given this lobbying, there is little justification for health organizations accepting this money.
C) Soda companies are not beneficent; their primary interest is improving profit at the expense of public health.

MedicalResearch.com: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this study?

Response: I think sponsorships should be studied internationally, and analysis should be expanded to include other junk food companies. Sponsorship is a pervasive yet subtle way of gaining market control, so understanding the size of the problem is the first step in addressing it.

MedicalResearch.com: Is there anything else you would like to add?

Response: It is important to remember how large and powerful these health organizations are. To those outside the medical community, they may seem mundane or unimportant. People do not understand the size of an organization like the American Academy of Pediatrics, or the American Academy of Family Physicians. When these organizations are seen for the powers that they are, the study results become even more more alarming.

MedicalResearch.com: Thank you for your contribution to the MedicalResearch.com community.

Citation:

Sponsorship of National Health Organizations by Two Major Soda Companies
Aaron, Daniel G. et al.
American Journal of Preventive Medicine , Volume 0 , Issue 0 ,
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2016.08.010

Note: Content is Not intended as medical advice. Please consult your health care provider regarding your specific medical condition and questions.

More Medical Research Interviews on MedicalResearch.com

[wysija_form id=”5″]

Last Updated on October 12, 2016 by Marie Benz MD FAAD