Soda giant is doing an image overhaul, deflects

Aug 12, 2015 13:44 GMT  ·  By
Soda companies are struggling to shift their share of the blame for the obesity epidemic on lack of exercise
   Soda companies are struggling to shift their share of the blame for the obesity epidemic on lack of exercise

Coca Cola’s Coke and all soda drinks (and even some types of flavored water) are deemed “empty calories” by leading nutrition experts, in that they provide a massive sugar punch and no actual nutrients. If Coca Cola has its way, you won’t hear that anymore.

The company is actually pouring serious funds into semi-bogus research that aims to deflect attention from the issue of the (empty) calorie intake that is associated with drinking fizzy drinks. It aims to do so by pointing to another culprit for the raging obesity epidemic: lack of proper exercise.

Coca Cola says exercise, eat and drink whatever you want

In other words, the soda giant is looking for ways to encourage consumption of its products, preferably in all those new supersized containers, by claiming that the culprit for obesity isn’t the number of calories ingested but the fact that we’re not moving enough.

Obviously, this is a far smarter move than just denying the existence of the obesity problem, but it’s still a very damaging one, a New York Times piece argues, citing several health experts.

Coca Cola has recently started a new nonprofit organization called Global Energy Balance Network, which came out guns blazing, arguing that there is “no proof” that your soda-drinking habit is linked to the fact that you’re carrying a few (or more) extra pounds.

In fact, studies already published by the organization argue, not even your love of fast food and high calorie treats are to blame for your weight problem. You only have it because you don’t work out enough.

In a sense, this is true: if you don’t exercise to burn the extra calories you ingested and your body has no need for, you will gain weight. However, by stressing that only exercise (or lack of) matters in the fight against the extra pounds, you ignore one very important element in the equation: diet.

You can’t have sustainable weight loss without combining regular exercise and a balanced diet, whereas Coca Cola is trying to say, through their semi-bogus research, that if you work out more, you can drink as much soda and stuff your face with as many French fries as your heart desires.

Coca Cola is just as bad as tobacco companies

Coca Cola is blowing smoke in our faces, the NYT piece argues, and as evil as that might sound, it’s not exactly a new strategy.

In fact, tobacco companies have done it first, back in the day when the public was still divided on whether to believe or not the warnings on the long-term health impact of smoking.

They too funded research that “proved” there was no direct link between smoking and a higher mortality rate, and even though all the organizations running the studies were transparent about their funding, that doesn’t mean they were impartial.

Coca Cola is doubling down these efforts, by doing a bit more than just have studies published to show that it’s not partly responsible for the obesity problem, the NYT says. It’s also taking action to encourage people to get out and move more, which is perhaps the best thing to come out of its rebranding attempts.

“In recent years, Coke has donated money to build fitness centers in more than 100 schools across the country,” the publication writes. “It sponsors a program called ‘Exercise is Medicine’ to encourage doctors to prescribe physical activity to patients. And when Chicago’s City Council proposed a soda tax in 2012 to help address the city’s obesity problem, Coca-Cola donated $3 million [€2.68 million] to establish fitness programs in more than 60 of the city’s community centers.”

The soda tax proposition eventually fell through.