Soft drink giant Coca-Cola is backing a new solution to obesity: Get more exercise and don't worry so much about cutting calories.
The New York Times says the company has teamed up with influential scientists who push this message in medical journals, at conferences and through social media.
Coke has provided financial and logistical support to a new nonprofit group, the Global Energy Balance Network. It promotes the argument that weight-conscious Americans are overly fixated on how much they eat and drink while not paying enough attention to exercise.
"Most of the focus in the popular media and in the scientific press is, 'Oh they're eating too much, eating too much, eating too much' - blaming fast food, blaming sugary drinks and so on," the group's vice-president, Steven Blair, an exercise scientist, says. "And there's really virtually no compelling evidence that that, in fact, is the cause."
The New York Times says health experts believe this message is misleading and part of an effort by Coke to deflect criticism about the role sugary drinks have played in the spread of obesity. They say the company is using the new group to convince the public that exercise can offset a bad diet despite evidence that physical activity has only minimal impact on weight compared with what people consume.
