| amednews.com |
Some say accepting cash from sugared-soda maker sends wrong message. AAFP says the funding will help educate consumers on beverage choices.
By Kevin B. O'Reilly, amednews staff. Posted Nov. 3.
The American Academy of Family Physicians announced in October that it was partnering with Coca-Cola Co., the world's No.1 soft-drink maker, "to develop consumer education content on beverages and sweeteners."
The one-year deal is the first in the academy's new "consumer alliance program" and is in the "strong six figures," according to AAFP Executive Vice President Douglas E. Henley, MD. Coca-Cola is listed as a partner at the academy's familydoctor.org Web site. The AAFP said it plans to use the funding from Coke and other consumer-goods companies to beef up the site's educational offerings.
In the fight against childhood obesity, many medical experts have tabbed sugar-sweetened sodas as a principal culprit, and for that reason some have criticized the AAFP deal.
The academy squandered its credibility by "taking tainted Coke cash," said a statement from the Center for Science in the Public Interest, an advocacy group strongly critical of the food industry. In a letter to Dr. Henley, the group called on the academy to reject the deal.
Henry Blackburn, MD, who was one of 22 public health experts to sign the CSPI letter, said the deal is "just crazy." Dr. Blackburn, professor emeritus in the division of epidemiology and community health at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health, said "no professional society should accept funding from such companies."
The AAFP's Dr. Henley defended the partnership, saying the academy will exercise the same level of independence it does when accepting pharmaceutical company grants.
"I don't think we've lost our credibility as an organization," he said. "The information that goes on the Web site is controlled by the academy, not by the partner, whomever it may be."
This content was published online only.
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