Soda Studies and Sponsors

The May edition of the Berkeley Wellness Letter reports that various studies over the past several years have tried to answer this question: "Do sugar-sweetened beverages cause weight gain?" Now, a review of these studies turns up something new: the study's recommendation often depends on who sponsors it.

80% of studies NOT sponsored by food companies found evidence that sugary beverages were associated with obesity. But 80% of the studies that WERE sponsored by food companies, such as Coca Cola found insufficient evidence of an association. That is, if the food company paid for the study, the study usually found that sugary sodas didn't increase weight gain.

So the next time you read about a study in the paper denying that sugary drinks have any effect on body weight, look a little more closely at who did the study and who paid for it. And you might want to avoid sugary sodas.