Public health scientists are benefiting from funding from companies such as Coca-Cola, Mars and Nestle, whose products are widely held to be responsible for the obesity crisis, an investigation has revealed.

A bottle of Coca Cola with biscuits, crisps, chocolate bars and carbonated drinks

A bottle of Coca Cola with biscuits, crisps, chocolate bars and carbonated drinks. Image by Anthony Devlin/PA Wire

The Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) and the Medical Research Council’s Human Nutrition Research unit (HNR) have also received financial help from the sugar industry, it was found. The research, published in the BMJ, highlighted the fact that nutrition scientist Professor Susan Jebb, who is chair of the Government’s Responsibility Deal Food Network, received support for her work from Coca-Cola, among other companies. Prof Jebb said her work remains entirely independent. “Everything I do, whether in my research or as chair of the responsibility deal, is to try to improve public health,” she told the BMJ.

An SACN spokeswoman said: “SACN members are widely acknowledged as global experts in their fields and there are robust checks and balances in place to ensure the impartiality of the committee’s evidence, which include public consultation. “We welcome that industry is listening to our best scientists, who can tell them what harm sugar is doing to the nation’s health. The draft SACN advice on sugar is aligned with the draft WHO recommendations and puts forward robust evidence on the dangers of eating too much sugar.”

 

(Press Association)