Questions Raised About Trump’s New CDC Boss

–Fitzgerald championed Coke-backed obesity program and practiced ‘anti-aging medicine’ Serious questions are being raised about Brenda Fitzgerald, MD, the Georgia doctor who Trump is appointing to be the new head of the CDC. Fitzgerald is an ob/gyn with long involvement in Republican politics in her state. She currently serves as the Commissioner of the Georgia…

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More Shots Fired in ‘Sugar War’

–Industry-sponsored study questions current guidelines on dietary sugar. Dietary guidelines relating to sugar— all of which recommend significant reductions in sugar intake— are based on weak evidence and are not trustworthy, according to a systematic review published in Annals of Internal Medicine. But an accompanying editorial points out that the systematic review is itself not…

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A Coke, A Smile, And 120 Million Dollars

As I’ve reported in the past Coca-Cola has a long history of giving money to medical organizations and researchers. Now we know just how much. In response to a New York Times story this summer, Coke has disclosed details of its financial support to a great number and broad variety of health organizations and initiatives. Over the past five years, it…

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What Role Should Coca-Cola Play In Obesity Research?

The New York Times reports that Coca-Cola gives financial support to scientists and a new foundation to help promote the message that the obesity epidemic is fueled not by too many calories or too much sugar but by not enough physical activity. The Times piece is well worth a read but the issue it takes up is not new.  Last year I wrote a…

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Big Sugar Tips The Balance Of The Research Scale

It might seem obvious: people who drink sugar-sweetened beverages are more likely to gain weight or to be obese. Most research supports this intuitive finding. The big exception: when researchers receive support from the sugar and beverage industries they are much less likely to make the connection. Researchers in Germany and Spain conducted a systematic…

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Cardiology Goes Better With Coke

At the bottom of this post I’ve reprinted an email cardiologists are receiving from the American College of Cardiology. See the bottom of the message for the disclosure that Coca Cola is paying for this educational program. I don’t have much to say about this though I wonder what the faculty of this program will…

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Coca-Cola, The Olympic Torch, And The American College Of Cardiology

William Zoghbi, the current president of the American College of Cardiology, today served as a torchbearer for the 2012 Olympic Games in London. The ACC, naturally, was proud of the honor and tweeted the event. Zoghbi himself wrote about it on his ACC blog.  But I couldn’t help noticing one line in Zoghbi’s blog:  I…

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