Speak Out Against Ill-Advised Coke-Doctors Partnership

Recently, the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP)--in a move away from pharmaceutical funding--accepted a "strong six-figure" grant for a new "consumer alliance partnership" with the Coca-Cola Company, the world's largest beverage company, to create content about beverages and sweeteners for its award-winning consumer website, www.FamilyDoctor.org.

The medical academy--which represented 94,614 family physicians, residents and medical students nationwide as of Dec. 2008--should be ashamed of itself for accepting a six-figure sum from a soda company that sells empty-calorie, sweet drinks--usually with fructose--which numerous peer-reviewed medical studies link to obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, strokes and even premature death.

In my opinion, it's a conflict of interest for the AAFP--whose vision is "to achieve optimal health for everyone"--to allow Coke to "educate" visitors to its website in how nutrient-lacking, obesity-generating beverages can fit into a "healthy" lifestyle.

Furthermore, it's hard to fathom how www.FamilyDoctor.org can offer "credible information on beverages and enable consumers to make informed decisions," as a Coca-Cola spokesperson maintains on the website.

For a doctors' group to take a high six-figure sum from Coke is like accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars from Big Tobacco to create physician-approved website content that claims smoking cigarettes can be part of a healthy lifestyle.

The AAFP website will likely push Coke's agenda to encourage consumption of sugar-filled beverages, as well as low-calorie or sugar-free drinks containing aspartame, saccharin, sucralose and acesulfame potassium. Research also raises questions about the safety of beverages with artificial sweeteners, with some studies even link to weight gain.

Just as I was posting this, Dr. Douglas Henley, executive vice president and CEO of the American Academy of Family Physicians, returned my call to contend, "We don't believe this consumer alliance impugns our integrity."

Dr. Henley insisted that Coke's high six-figure grant will "enhance the content," that "Coke has nothing to do with writing the material" and that the AAFP has set up a "firewall" to prevent any conflict of interest. "...The development of content is evidence-based and not influenced by the funder [Coke]," he insisted.

What's more, Dr. Henley said that when the revamped, more "robust" website is unveiled in January, you'll even see peer-reviewed literature that links sweetened soda to obesity.

"It's a credit to Coca-Cola" that they were still willing to provide funds knowing that the website may contain "content that's not good for some of their products." Suffice it to say that I was stunned by these naive remarks, because how can you bite the hand that feeds you?

The new Coke partnership -- which was announced in early October and challenged here on the Huffington Post by esteemed nutrition expert and wellness advocate Marion Nestle -- was, in part, driven by a desire to decrease "reliance on pharmaceutical funding," AAFP president-elect Lori Heim, M.D. A.A.F.P. of Vass, N.C. explained in a "Weighty Matters" podcast with Dr. Yoni Freedhoff. Dr. Heim asserted that the medical society would have "full editorial control," that the website wouldn't "endorse" any products and that AAFP may refuse other partnerships.

"We have standards," she claimed, noting that companies must demonstrate "a proven record of responsibility." Implying that Coke fit the bill, Dr. Heim contended that www.familydoctor.org would continue to be a "respected site," with "credible scientific material."

Essentially, the doctors' organization is jumping out of bed with Big Pharma to get intimate with Big Soda. It's like swapping one toxic relationship for another and getting cozy with a selfish partner, who's more concerned about the bottom line than Americans' waistlines.

Meanwhile, in mid-October, a group of 22 "distressed and disappointed" physicians, nutritionists and researchers, headed up by the Center for the Science in Public Interest's Michael F. Jacobson, Ph.D., condemned the Coke-AAFP partnership and urged the medical society "to regain its credibility by rejecting the deal with Coca-Cola." If it declines to do that, the health experts called on the AAFP to support a warning label on caloric sweetened beverages and a federal tax on soft drinks to fund health promotion or health insurance programs.

The open letter of opposition was signed by such esteemed scientists and physicians as Henry Blackburn of the University of Minnesota, George A. Bray of the Louisiana State University, Caldwell B. Esselstyn, Jr., of the Cleveland Clinic Wellness Institute, Joan Gussow of Columbia University, Lisa R. Young of New York University, and Carlos A. Camargo, Jr., Meir Stampfer, Walter Willett, and Grace Wyshak of the Harvard School of Public Health.

"It's a disturbing trend throughout medicine... when medical organizations and researchers accept support from a [company] with a vested financial interest... in a product [such as Coke], drug or device," Dr. Blackburn, a University of Minnesota public health specialist and epidemiology professor, said in a phone interview. This means, he added, that "it's unlikely" that the academy will speak out against soda."

By signing with Coke, the academy's voice "has almost surely been muzzled," Dr. Walter Willett told AP medical reporter Lindsey Tanner.

Since the AAFP has shown no sign of recanting the deal, on Oct. 28, more than 20 "appalled and ashamed" doctors at the Contra Costa Regional Medical Center in Martinez, California, headed by its director William Walker, M.D., protested the AAFP-Coke alliance in a ceremony that was podcast and videotaped. With "great sorrow," Dr. Walker resigned and ripped up his AAFP membership card, which he's been carrying for 25 years.

In his statement, Dr. Walker cited a study by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, which found that 41% of children aged 2 to 11 and 62% of youths aged 12 to 17 drink one or more sugar-sweetened beverages per day," which is the same as "consuming an amazing 39 pounds of sugar each year in sugar-sweetened beverages alone."

To be sure, Coke officials and other opponents may argue that soft drinks aren't solely responsible for our obesity epidemic. They'll also insist that people don't exercise enough and they overeat other unhealthy foods. While that may be true, medical professionals and health experts tell patients and clients that eliminating empty-calorie, sugary drinks (or "liquid sugar," as the CSPI's Dr. Jacobson puts it) is the single fastest, easiest way to lose weight. In addition, research reveals that cutting out or curtailing soda consumption can reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

Since, to date, the American Academy of Family Physicians hasn't reneged on its Coke partnership, we urge:

(1) that health advocates, scientists and nutritionists, as well as AAFP members, call on the medical group to return the Coke money and dissolve its relationship with the soda giant;
(2) that AAFP members immediately resign and stay at arm's length until the organization isn't intimate with Coke anymore;
(3) that the AAFP leadership apologize to its members and all Americans for this misguided move to partner with Coke;
(4) that consumers boycott the AAFP www.FamilyDoctor.org website and search elsewhere for credible information; and
(5) that the AAFP urge visitors to its website to limit or eliminate consumption of soft drinks--both sugar-sweetened and sugar-free--to prevent obesity and maintain good health.

We invite all health advocates and AAFP members around the country to join with us as we promote optimal health for all Americans. We also encourage supporters to enter the discussion at the new Facebook group, "End the AAFP and Coca-Cola Collaboration," which was formed by Lenny Lesser, MD, a family-medicine trained, nutrition researcher at UCLA, and to speak out on the two Facebook pages -- either this AAFP Facebook page or this one.

And, of course, please share your comments here on the Huffington Post, too.

 

Follow Connie Bennett on Twitter: www.twitter.com/SmartHabitsGirl

Comments

[twwv8]

So by your logic Duke shouldn't be a world famous cancer research and treament center.

[twwv8]

>>>For a doctors' group to take a high six-figure sum from Coke is like accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars from Big Tobacco to create physician-approved website content that claims smoking cigarettes can be part of a healthy lifestyle.

[Lellie]

Refined sugar suppresses the imune system for up to 4 hours after ingestion

Sweet tastes (vs savory) create a desire for more sweets (even if the sweet is stevia).

The concept of a doctor-Coke alliance is obscene.

[ebanks84]

Greed for money has taken over this country more than anything else. Where we used to be about eating and living healthy, corporations have been on a money spree to undo all that we have held sacred. Our health has been compromised for a dollar. And until we wake up and realize WE, THE PEOPLE, are in total control of this situation because WE CAN STOP PURCHASING THESE K.I.L.L.E.R PRODUCTS IF WE WANTED TO but we don't and therefore have no one to blame but ourselves.

So stop complaining and stop buying! That is the only way. We must break our "food junkie habits" if we want to survive.

[Liz Russell]

Surely the AAFP is not so desperate for funding that they would compromise their integrity this way. I hope they rethink this decision.

Otherwise, they will give further credence to the notion that doctors are not in the business of health, they are in the business of illness. It certainly seems like conflict of interest, to me, for any health-oriented organization to take money from those who promote sugar addiction throughout the world, leading to an increasing number of new cases of diabetes every year and a host of other serious health problems.

I hope this act on their part draws public outrage, and proves to be the beginning of a new level of consciousness, regarding sugar addiction.

What can we do to help?

[rmforall]

brief aspartame -- 11% methanol part becomes formaldehyde in humans:
Rich Murray 2009.11.07

Over 100 mg methanol impurity per liter wine becomes
formaldehyde and then formic acid in humans -- co-factors for
"morning after" hangovers -- folic acid protects most people:
Rich Murray 2009.10.21

There is the same level of methanol from the 11% methanol part
of the aspartame molecule in 2 L [ 6 cans ] aspartame beverages,
as in 1 L dark wine or liquors.

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/579335

Dermatitis. 2008; 19(3): E10-E11.
© 2008 American Contact Dermatitis Society
Formaldehyde, Aspartame, and Migraines:
A Possible Connection
Sharon E. Jacob; Sarah Stechschulte
Published: 09/17/2008

Abstract

Aspartame is a widely used artificial sweetener
that has been linked to pediatric and adolescent migraines.
Upon ingestion, aspartame is broken, converted, and oxidized
into formaldehyde in various tissues.
We present the first case series of aspartame-­associated
migraines related to clinically relevant positive reactions
to formaldehyde on patch testing.

formaldehyde, aspartame, and migraines, the first case series,
Sharon E Jacob-Soo, Sarah A Stechschulte, UCSD,
Dermatitis 2008 May: Rich Murray 2008.07.18
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1553

consider co-factors (methanol, formaldehyde, and protective
folic acid), re UK FSA test of aspartame in candy bars on
50 reactors, Stephen L Atkin, Hull York Medical School:
Rich Murray 2009.09.29
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1587

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/messages

[ilouie]

Thanks for this excellent article. This is but another reason why we cannot trust the American medical community or many of their findings. Unfortunately, we live in a society where even science is governed by finance and politics. The simple truth is, we were made to live in nature and eat food, not some invention that was created to produce wealth.

[ebanks84]

Thank you. My grandfather told me when I was very young NOT to drink coca colas and I listened. I'm so glad I did.

[PresidentRobertBooth]

Coke is fine ever so often, for those of us with an independent mind and self control.

[Liz Russell]

To say it's about "independent mind and self control" shows a lack of understanding of the addictive nature of sugar. How about, "Cigarettes are fine, ever so often," or even "Heroine is fine, ever so often?" For a sugar-sensitive individual, prone to be a sugar addict, there is no safe amount of sugar. That would cover at least half of the population, since our bodies were not designed to handle refined sugar, a relatively new substance. But even for a very healthy person, one can of Coke is an assault on the blood sugar regulation system.

[ebanks84]

Rat poison might be fine "ever so often" also. But...

[twwv8]

Rat poison is warfarin, a commonly used blood thinner, so yes it is safe when taken properly.

[Justovertheriver]

Is everyone just as miffed about Diet Coke?

[ebanks84]

All diet drinks contain "aspartame" or like substances that eventually destroys other parts of your body. Read about aspartame, please.

[Lochana]

Thank you for posting this. The call to action at the end is very helpful.. I hope it works. Good job on bringing to like a very serious subject. If the relationship isn't severed there will be huge ramifications.

[Connie Bennett - Huffpost Blogger]

And thank you for your kind comments. Please share with your friends. I do hope this helps the discussion get going.

[Connie Bennett - Huffpost Blogger]

This is seriously absurd!! What more does a doctor have to say about Coca-Cola other than, "NEVER drink that poison."!?!??

[ebanks84]

I read of a man who drunk diet cokes for almost 20 years and eventually died from the poisons contained in the product that caused his system to collapse. He drunk cokes to his demise and it is a proven fact.

[ebanks84]

Excellent article and it's about time someone brought it up. Thank you and keep them coming :). By the way, check out Monsanto next please, please, please, as they are also ruining our lives with their d.e.a.d.l.y. seeds. Thank you again!

[Alex Dorn]

You know, coca cola owns minute maid and odwalla juice companies too.

[DivaDebra]

Great article. Sad that this trend is going on in medicine. Greed takes over the rational mind.

[Connie Bennett - Huffpost Blogger]

This is a very, very sad trend! I don't know that it's greed so much as the need for money. But I believe that you can find money from like-minded companies.