Faulty Research on the Link between Sugar Consumption/Heart Disease

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/13/well/eat/how-the-sugar-industry-shifted-blame-to-fat.html?_r=0

With our readings from Sweetness and Power, I found an article that came out today about companies involved in sugar production paying off researchers to play down/hide the link between sugar and heart disease back in the 1960s.

The article starts off by talking about internal sugar industry documents recently discovered and published in  JAMA International Medicine, which suggest that the current recommendations about sugar consumption have been shaped by the sugar industry over the past 5 decades. In particular, the Sugar Association (formerly the Sugar Research Foundation) paid 3 Harvard Scientists $50,000 each to review research articles on sugar, fat and heart disease that were hand picked by the same association, and down play the link between sugar and heart disease. Not only has this group influenced research regarding sugar, but companies such as Coca Cola and those responsible for making candy and sweets, continue to fund research that down plays the link between sugar consumption and obesity, and weight loss and sugar consumption.

The big picture result of these studies supported by the sugar industry has caused government officials over the past few decades to recommend low-fat food consumption, while not paying as much attention to the amount of sugar in the diet. Americans have been consuming foods with a higher sugar content and lower fat content since this publication, which could actually have contributed a greater deal to the obesity crisis in America than previously thought.

As we talked about in class, sugar plays such a huge role in our diets today. While many people are beginning to understand the risks involved with sugar rich diets, it is quite sad to see the efforts of the sugar industry over the past few decades, downplaying a food group that contributes so much towards obesity and heart disease in the United States. Being a member of the American Heart Association and knowing family members who have suffered through heart disease, its very difficult to understand and quite disgusting to see people and companies doing things like this for the pure pursuit of monetary gain.