NY Times: Coca-Cola Funds Scientists Who Shift Blame for Obesity Away From Bad Diets

[LiberalElite]

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/08/09/coca-cola-funds-scientists-who-shift-blame-for-obesity-away-from-bad-diets/?emc=edit_th_20150810&nl=todaysheadlines&nlid=46529169&_r=0

-snip-
Coca-Cola, the world’s largest producer of sugary beverages, is backing a new “science-based” solution to the obesity crisis: To maintain a healthy weight, get more exercise and worry less about cutting calories.

The beverage giant has teamed up with influential scientists who are advancing this message in medical journals, at conferences and through social media. To help the scientists get the word out, Coke has provided financial and logistical support to a new nonprofit organization called the Global Energy Balance Network, which promotes the argument that weight-conscious Americans are overly fixated on how much they eat and drink while not paying enough attention to exercise.
-snip-

Well, I'm shocked!

[merrily]

1. Ice water is my favorite beverage and I try to stick to foods

whose ingredients I don't have to google. That's all I know.

Oh, and I heard Coke takes paint off cars. Don't know if that's true; don't know how that correlates to what it does to your insides. All I know is that I've heard it.

Sensible exercise is good, too.

Good nutrition; good exercise. Easier to type than to accomplish.

[mythology]

13. To be fair stomach acid does a number on paint too

The worse problem with soda is the amount of sugar and being empty calories. Of course I say this while drinking a coke at the moment. Stupid first thing in in the morning meetings.

[merrily]

14. I've read that the diet version is even worse.

I'm just very lucky. Growing up, we had Pepsi on the rocks every time we ate and I loved it. Then, as a young adult, I eliminated Pepsi for a couple of months to lose a bit of weight. The slimmer me was really looking forward to that nice icy Pepsi, but I spit it out immediately. It tasted like a mouthful of nasty chemicals. It's been ice water ever since, except in Mexico, where it's beer.

[safeinOhio]

2. Not that many overweight kids

Back in the 50s and 60s when I was young. Cokes were 8 oz and no super sized fast food.

[LiberalElite]

3. also no computer games nt

[Spider Jerusalem]

7. Or cable television or remote controls or helicopter parents.

[safeinOhio]

12. I was my dad's remote.

It was also my job to adjust the foil wrapped around the rabbit ears.

[Freddie]

4. Lots of people here don't like Keurigs

Because of the non-biodegradable pods, understandable.
But you can get wonderful fresh brewed ice tea from your Keurig in less than a minute! The Lipton unsweetened ice tea is designed to brew over ice so the hot water/ice creates the perfect strength iced tea, add your own sweetener or none. This has helped me to give up my soda habit for a healthy, no-calorie beverage.

[Quackers]

9. I don't like Keurigs

My wife was making a cup of coffee. When tried to pick it up, it splashed and burned her fingers. Her instant reaction was to throw the cup away from her body. Unfortunately, I was in front of her and was scalded from my upper shoulder, chest, and my right arm. One small area on my arm was a 3rd degree burn, the majority of my injury was 2nd degree burns with some some 1st degree burns on the outer edges.


So yeah, I don't get along with Keurigs anymore. It stays in its area and I stay in mine.

[meow2u3]

15. I don't like Keurigs either

I prefer making my coffee from a French press. Not only does it taste great, it also doesn't burn the coffee. You just have to have an insulated pot to put it in after it's done.

The only downside to a French press is that it's a pain to clean. You need a small strainer to drain the coffee grounds and a container to put them in until they dry, or else your garbage can liner can become very heavy.

[Kablooie]

17. I've only had weak stale tasting coffee from our keurigs at work.

At home I have a coffee maker that grinds and brews in one step that makes great coffee from beans.
And it was only 35$ at best buy.

[Orrex]

5. Watched most of a horror movie on NetFlix last night.

Fed Up.

See it ASAP if you want to come away with a sense of rage paired with crushing despair.

[reformist2]

6. Exercise more (Nike)! Eat More (Coke, McDonalds)! More! More! More!

Notice how it's against corporate interests for you to do less.

Instead of going to the gym and then going out to eat, how about staying home and reading a book, and not an "e-book" either, a real book, preferably one you checked out from your local library?

[GreatGazoo]

8. This is now a common strategy for some of the big brands

They are getting hammered in the age of transparency and social media. Sales of coca-cola have slid for 8 years mirroring a decline on other less healthy foods. The answer from some brands has been to muddy the waters and try to block consumers from continuing to make better choices.

The marketing of their own version of science has been compared to the "Cigarette science" of the early 1960s.

A good brand commands a premium price in the marketplace -- coke costs more than generic soft drinks. But brand is about trust. For decades Coke was about trust that the consumer would get the same experience they did last time or two weeks ago or a decade ago. Same for McDonald's and many others -- consistency of experience. That was actually a pretty low bar to set. The market is shifting radically for the first time in decades and the old boardroom guys don't know what to do about it.

The consumer is asking them to change the product(s) but big brands are stuck on changing only the package and the reason why you should buy the same old crap again and again. They are destroying the value of their brands by eroding trust.

Great article on the trouble within big food brands:

http://fortune.com/2015/05/21/the-war-on-big-food/?src=longreads

[Sherman A1]

11. Agreed

Soda sales are off by about 2/3rd's from not that many years ago. The companies that make them are grasping at whatever they can to hold on to market share.

[romanic]

10. Money trumps health once again.

Quelle surprise!

[Kablooie]

16. Coke used to come in 6 oz bottles.12 was large size.

thats part of the problem.
They force people To drink huge amounts.
I hate drinking a full can and often leave it unfinished which make me feel I'm wasting it.

I don't drink much coke now because of the health issues but if it were available in small amounts I probably would drink more.