Currently browsing posts about: Sponsored-research

Last Friday, Coca-Cola UK joined its US counterpart in revealing the names of the organizations, researchers, and individuals it funds and the amounts it pays for these services.

As Jon Woods, General Manager of Coca-Cola Great Britain and Ireland, explains:

Earlier this year, my colleagues in the US published a list of the health and wellbeing partnerships, research and individuals funded there, dating back to 2010. In October, I committed to do the same and today we have published the details of what we have funded in Great Britain.  I believe this is the right thing to do…The total amount of funding we have provided in GB since 2010 is £9,328,095.

Like the US list, which has been analyzed extensively by Ninjas for Health, this one is interesting to read.

Here is a small sample from the list of organizations:

• Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council — £20,000
• British Dietetic Association — £5,600
• British Feeding & Drinking Group Annual Meeting — £1,200
• British Nutrition Foundation — £33,000

A sample from the list of scientists and other individuals (not otherwise identified, alas):

• Fiona Hunter
• Prof. Ken Fox
• Lynne Garton
• Dr. Geoffrey Livesey
• Dr. Sigrid Gibson
• Dr. David Haslam
• Prof. Marion Hetherington
• Penny Hunking
• Angie Jefferson
• Prof. Ian Macdonald

I’m sure British public health advocates will have fun looking up what these people have said about sugary drinks and obesity.

The Times of London explained who some of them are:

The advisers include Stuart Biddle, of Loughborough University, who was chairman of a health department group on obesity in 2010; Alan Boobis, a director at Public Health England, who stopped receiving funding in 2013; Ken Fox, who advised the government on obesity in 2009; and Carrie Ruxton, now on the board of Food Standards Scotland. In 2010 Dr Ruxton co-wrote a study sponsored by the UK Sugar Bureau, an industry group, that found no proven association between sugar intake and obesity.

According to Der Spiegel, Coca-Cola plans to reveal everyone it sponsors in Europe.  All of this is further fallout from August’s New York Times’ revelations of Coca-Cola sponsorship of the now defunct Global Energy Balance Network.

More to come, no doubt.  Stay tuned.

Here are three rare studies sponsored by food companies with results that must have disappointed their funders.  Since mid-March when I started this collection, these bring the score to 85:9 (studies with results favorable to the sponsor’s interests vs. those against).

Acute Cocoa Supplementation Increases Postprandial HDL Cholesterol and Insulin in Obese Adults with Type 2 Diabetes after Consumption of a High-Fat Breakfast.  Arpita Basu, Nancy M Betts, Misti J Leyva, Dongxu Fu, Christopher E Aston, and Timothy J Lyons.  J. Nutr. 2015; 145:2325-2332 doi:10.3945/jn.115.215772

• Conclusion: Acute cocoa supplementation showed no clear overall benefit in T2D [type 2 diabetes] patients after a high-fat fast-food–style meal challenge. Although HDL cholesterol and insulin remained higher throughout the 6-h postprandial period, an overall decrease in large artery elasticity was found after cocoa consumption.
• Funding: Supported by NIH Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence Program of the National Center for Research Resources at University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center…a grant from The Hershey Company (to AB), and the Dean’s Research Incentive program in the College of Human Sciences at Oklahoma State University.

Associations between flavan-3-ol intake and CVD risk in the Norfolk cohort of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer (EPIC-Norfolk).  Vogiatzoglou A¹, Mulligan AA², Bhaniani A², Lentjes MA², McTaggart A², Luben RN², Heiss C³, Kelm M³, Merx MW³, Spencer JP³, Schroeter H⁴, Khaw KT⁵,Kuhnle GG⁶.  ).  Free Radic Biol Med. 2015 Jul;84:1-10. doi: 10.1016/j.freeradbiomed.2015.03.005. Epub 2015 Mar 17.

• Conclusion:  There were no consistent associations between flavan-3-ol monomer intake and baseline systolic and diastolic blood pressure (BP)…Flavan-3-ol intake in EPIC-Norfolk is not sufficient to achieve a statistically significant reduction in CVD risk.
• Funding: The present study was supported by the EU (Grant 226588, “Flaviola”) and an unrestricted grant from Mars, Inc. Mars, Inc. had no role in the design and analysis of the study or in the writing of this article. EPIC-Norfolk is supported by Cancer Research UK (SP2024-0201 and SP2024-0204) and the Medical Research Council (G9502233). H.S. is employed by MARS, Inc., a member of the FLAVIOLA research consortium and a company engaged in flavanol research and flavanol-related commercial activities. None of the other authors has a conflict of interest to declare.
• Comment: This and the previous study are part of an effort to make chocolate seem like a health food.  Alas, these didn’t work.

No Change in 24-Hour Hydration Status Following a Moderate Increase in Fluid Consumption.  Matthew A. Tucker MA, J. D. Adams MS, Lemuel A. Brown MS, Christian B. Ridings MS, Jenna M. Burchfield MS, Forrest B. Robinson BS, Jamie L. McDermott MS, RD, LDN, Brett A. Schreiber MS, Nicole E. Moyen MS, Tyrone A. Washington PhD, Andrea C. Bermudez BS, Meredith P. Bennett BS, Maxime E. Buyckx MD & Matthew S. Ganio PhD.  Journal of the American College of Nutrition, DOI: 10.1080/07315724.2015.1046196.

• Conclusions: Regardless of fluid volume or beverage type consumed, measures of 24-hour hydration status did not differ, suggesting that standard measures of hydration status are not sensitive enough to detect a 22% increase in beverage consumption.
• Funding: This study was supported by a grant from The Coca-Cola Company. M.E.B., an employee of The Coca-Cola Company, contributed to study design and writing the article.
• Comment: Coca-Cola has long advertised its products as promoting hydration.  In most people, thirst and normal food intake take care of hydration.  This study confirms that if you drink more than you need, you pee out the excess.

These are coming in so quickly that I am having a hard time keeping up with them.  Note that the first three are sponsored by Coca-Cola and that some of the investigators were involved with the ill-fated Global Energy Balance Network, now defunct.  As we now know from the e-mails obtained by the Associated Press, the statement that “the sponsor played no role…” is not necessarily correct.

As for the score: since mid-March, I have collected 85 sponsored studies with results just as the sponsor wanted, versus 6 with results that must have disappointed.  But stay tuned: tomorrow I will post 3 more in the disappointing category.

Low levels of physical activity are associated with dysregulation of energy intake and fat mass gain over 1 year.  Robin P Shook, Gregory A Hand, Clemens Drenowatz, James R Hebert, Amanda E Paluch, John E Blundell, James O Hill, Peter T Katzmarzyk, Timothy S Church,11 and Steven N Blair.  Am J Clinical Nutrition November 11, 2015 as doi: 10.3945/ajcn.115.115360.

• Conclusions: These results suggest that low levels of physical activity are a risk factor for fat mass gain. In the current sample, a threshold for achieving energy balance occurred at an activity level corresponding to 7116 steps/d, an amount achievable by most adults.
• Funding: Supported by an unrestricted research grant from The Coca-Cola Company.

Association between cardiorespiratory fitness and submaximal systolic blood pressure among young adult men: a reversed J-curve pattern relationship. Vivek K. Prasada, Clemens Drenowatza, Gregory A. Handb, Carl J. Laviec, Xuemei Suia, Madison Demelloa, and Steven N. Blair.  Journal of Hypertension 2015, 33:2239–2244.

• Conclusions: There was a reverse J-curve pattern relationship between SSBP [submaximal systolic blood pressure] and CRF [cardiorespiratory fitness], with the lowest SSBP among men with fair or good CRF and highest among those with poor CRF.
• Funding: Funding for this project was provided through an unrestricted grant from The Coca-Cola Company. The sponsor played no role in the study design, data collection, analysis and interpretation, or preparation and submission of this manuscript.

Relation of Body’s Lean Mass, Fat Mass and Body Mass Index with Submaximal Systolic Blood Pressure Among Young Adult Men.  Vivek K. Prasad, MD, MPH, PhD, Clemens Drenowatz, PhD, Gregory A. Hand, PhD, Carl J. Lavie, MD, Xuemei Sui, MD, MPH, PhD, Madison Demello, MS, Steven N.Blair.  Am J Cardiology 2015 DOI: 10.1016/j.amjcard.2015.10.060 .

• Conclusion: there was a J curve pattern between SSBP [submaximal systolic blood pressure] and components of body composition whereas, a linear relation between SSBP and BMI.
• Funding: Funding for this project was provided through an unrestricted grant from the Coca-Cola Company. The sponsor played no role in the study design, data collection, analysis, and interpretation,or preparation and submission of this manuscript.

Sugar- and artificially sweetened beverages and intrahepatic fat: A randomized controlled trial. Vanessa Campos, Camille Despland, Vaclav Brandejsky, Roland Kreis, Philippe Schneiter, Arnaud Chiolero, Chris Boesch and Luc Tappy.  Obesity Volume 23, Issue 12, pages 2335–2339, December 2015.

• Conclusion: In subjects with overweight or obesity and a high SSB intake, replacing SSB with ASB decreased intrahepatic fat over a 12-week period.
• Disclosure:  LT received research support from Nestlé SA, Switzerland, and Ajinomoto Co Inc, Japan, for studies unrelated to this work and speaker’s honoraria from Nestlé SA, Switzerland, Ferrero, Italy, and C3 collaborating for health, UK. The other authors declared no conflict of interest.

Probiotic supplementation attenuates increases in body mass and fat mass during high-fat diet in healthy young adults. Kristin L. Osterberg, Nabil E. Boutagy, Ryan P. McMillan, Joseph R. Stevens, Madlyn I. Frisard, John W. Kavanaugh, Brenda M. Davy, Kevin P. Davy and Matthew W. Hulver.  Obesity Volume 23, Issue 12, pages 2364–2370, December 2015.  DOI: 10.1002/oby.21230.

• Conclusion: VSL#3 [the probiotic] supplementation appears to have provided some protection from body mass gain and fat accumulation in healthy young men consuming a high-fat and high-energy diet.
• Funding agencies: This study was funded by VSL Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
• Disclosure: The authors declared no conflict of interest.

Let’s take a look at a rare industry-funded study with results contrary to the interests of the funders.

It addresses the question: Is naturally occurring trans fat from meat and dairy products healthier than industrially produced trans fat?

The answer: not really.

The study

Vaccenic acid and trans fatty acid isomers from partially hydrogenated oil both adversely affect LDL cholesterol: a double-blind, randomized controlled trial.  Sarah K Gebauer, Frédéric Destaillats, Fabiola Dionisi, Ronald M Krauss, and David J Baer.  Am J Clin Nutr, November 11, 2015,  doi: 10.3945/ajcn.115.116129.

• Conclusions: Total cholesterol (TC), LDL cholesterol, triacylglycerol, lipoprotein(a), and apolipoprotein B were higher after VA [vaccenic acid] than after iTFA [industrial trans fatty acids]; high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and apolipoprotein AI also were higher after VA. Compared with control, VA and iTFA both increased TC, LDL cholesterol, ratio of TC to HDL cholesterol, and apolipoprotein B…VA also increased HDL cholesterol, apolipoprotein AI, apolipoprotein B, and lipoprotein(a)…whereas iTFA did not. c9,t11-CLA [conjugated linoleic acid] lowered triacylglycerol…and had no effect on other lipoprotein risk factors.
• Funding:  Supported by USDA, Dairy Management Inc., Nestlé, and Dairy Australia. The funding organizations had no role in the conduct of the study; collection, management, analysis, and interpretation of the data; or decision to submit the manuscript for publication.

Background

Everyone agrees that hydrogenated fats containing trans fatty acids (industrial trans fatty acids or iTFAs) raise the risk of LDL-cholesterol (the bad one) and, therefore, the risk of coronary artery disease.  But what about the naturally occurring trans fats that occur in meat and dairy products as a result of bacterial hydrogenation of fats in the rumens of ruminant animals (ruminant trans fatty acids or rTFAs)?

Some studies suggest that rTFAs do not raise the risk of coronary disease.  This study tests that hypothesis.  It found that the major rTFA, vaccenic acid, does indeed raise risk factors for coronary artery disease almost or more than do iTFAs.

To make sense of the study, you need to know:

• In iTFAs, the two major trans fats are elaidic acid 25%, and vaccenic acid 10%
• In rTFAs, the trans fats are vaccenic acid 45% and elaidic acid 5%
• Therefore, vaccenic acid is the major trans fat in rTFAs

What about Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA, or rumenic acid)?

The study also looked at intake of another rTFA, conjugated linoleic acid, which seems to have more benign properties but is present in such small amounts that it hardly makes a difference.  Although this study found CLA to have no effect on risk factors for coronary heart disease, a study from independently funded investigators judged it to have effects similar to that of other rTFAs.

What took so long to get this study published?

David Baer, who works for USDA, is the senior author on this paper.  I saw a slide presentation he did on this study in 2010.  Its results were already available.

In 2011, his group wrote a review of ruminant trans fats, but did not report these results (they were known, but not published).

In 2012, Dr. Baer wrote about ruminant trans fats, disclosed his dairy industry funding, but also did not report these results.  He concluded:

It is still difficult to draw definitive conclusions about the role of rTFAs in modulating risk of cardiovascular disease as mediated through changes in LDL and HDL cholesterol. Intake of these fatty acids is typically low in the diet.

I heard about this study last summer and wondered whether its funders were holding up publication.  I called Dr. Baer and asked.  He said the funders had nothing to do with the delay.  Instead, life had intervened—collaborators left, he was busy with other things, and was having trouble getting the paper published.

The bottom line

The study was done with purified vaccenic acid, not dairy fat, in amounts higher than those likely to be consumed in diets.  The authors say

Evidence…suggests that VA [vaccenic acid] consumed in amounts and foods typically found in the diet is inversely or not associated with CVD risk.

That’s one possible interpretation, but check the title of the editorial accompanying the paper: “In equal amounts, the major ruminant trans fatty acid is as bad for LDL cholesterol as industrially produced trans fatty acids, but the latter are easier to remove from foods.”

The funders of this study must be disappointed.  It was undoubtedly difficult and expensive to do, since it involved synthesis of pure vaccenic acid and a clinical trial of more than 100 subjects.

The funders must have hoped the study would show vaccenic acid to be as benign or even healthier than conjugated linoleic acid.  They bet wrong on this one.

This brings the score to 80:7 (sponsored studies with results favorable to the sponsor vs. those unfavorable).

In case you haven’t been following this saga, I’ve been collecting studies funded by food companies since last March and posting them according to whether the results do or do not favor the sponsor’s interests.  So far, I’ve reported 80 that do, versus 6 that don’t (although I have a couple more saved up for posting soon).

The point of this exercise is to demonstrate that sponsored studies are far more likely to favor the interests of the sponsor than are studies funded by government agencies or foundations, and to argue for more independent funding of food and nutrition research (see my recent Viewpoint on this topic in JAMA Internal Medicine).

Here are five more examples.

Is consuming yoghurt associated with weight management outcomes? Results from a systematic review. J Eales, I Lenoir-Wijnkoop, S King, H Wood, F J Kok, R Shamir, A Prentice, M Edwards, J Glanville, R L Atkinson. Int’l J Obesity 2015 ahead of print.

• Conclusions: Yoghurt consumption is associated with lower BMI, lower body weight/weight gain, smaller waist circumference and lower body fat in epidemiological studies. RCTs [randomized controlled trials] suggest weight reduction effects, but do not permit determination of a cause/effect relationship. Well-controlled, adequately powered trials in research and community settings appear likely to identify a modest but beneficial effect of yoghurt consumption for prevention of weight gain and management of obesity. The ready availability of yoghurt (a nutrient dense food) and its ease of introduction to most diets, suggests that educating the public to eat yoghurt as part of a balanced and healthy diet may potentially contribute to improved public health.
• Funding: This project was funded by Danone Institute International.
• Conflict of interest statement: York Health Economics Consortium received funding from Danone Institute International to conduct this review. York Health Economics Consortium has received funding from the Global Alliance for Probiotics, Danone and the European Food Safety Agency for projects involving food and health topics. FJK is member of the Scientific Advisory Board Global Dairy Platform, Chicago USA RS is President of Danone Institute International ILW is employed by the Danone Company, France.

Red Meat and Colorectal Cancer: A Quantitative Update on the State of the Epidemiologic Science.  Dominik D. Alexander PhD, MSPHab*, Douglas L. Weed MD, PhDc, Paula E. Miller MPHb & Muhima A. Mohamed M PHd. J Am College Nutrition 2015;34: 521-43.  DOI:10.1080/07315724.2014.992553

• Conclusion:  The state of the epidemiologic science on red meat consumption and CRC [colorectal cancer] is best described in terms of weak associations, heterogeneity, an inability to disentangle effects from other dietary and lifestyle factors, lack of a clear dose-response effect, and weakening evidence over time.
• Funding: This manuscript was partially funded by Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA). MLA did not contribute to the writing, analysis, or interpretation of study findings.
• Comment: The conclusion of this industry-funded study contradicts the findings of the WHO International Agency for Research on Cancer, which finds processed meats to be carcinogenic, and red meat to be a probable carcinogen.

The challenges of nutrition policymaking. Joanne Slavin.  Nutrition Journal (2015) 14:15 DOI 10.1186/s12937-015-0001-8.

• Thrust of paper: As every DGAC [Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee] wants to be bold and set new direction, nutrition science would support that first we must do no harm with our dietary guidance. Moderation and variety must be kept front and center…A suggestion that all Americans should reduce sodium intakes is not sound and is potentially dangerous. Targeting certain foods and beverages, including chocolate milk, processed meats, added sugars, and even the noble potato as villains in the nutrition wars is not a science-based strategy and may need to be countered on the political front if appointed scientific review committees continue to take this approach.
• Competing interests: In the past 5 years Dr. Slavin has received research grants from Minnesota Beef Council, Minnesota Cultivated Wild Rice Council, Novartis Consumer Health, USA Rice, Nestle Nutrition, Tate and Lyle, General Mills, Inc., USA Pears and American Pulse Association. In the past 5 years Dr. Slavin has received speaking fees from food companies and commodity groups with interests in processed foods, dairy products, meat, pulses, fruits, vegetables, fiber, grains, and carbohydrates. Dr. Slavin has participated in scientific panels and advisory boards that are funded by food companies, ingredient companies, commodity groups, scientific societies, and trade groups. She holds a third interest in the Slavin Sisters LLC, a 119-acre farm in Southern Wisconsin.

Does low-energy sweetener consumption affect energy intake and body weight? A systematic review, including meta-analyses, of the evidence from human and animal studies PJ Rogers, PS Hogenkam , C de Graaf, S Higgs, A Lluch, AR Ness, C Penfold, R Perry, P Putz, MR Yeomansand DJ Mela.International Journal of Obesity (2015), 1–14 10 November 2015; doi:10.1038/ijo.2015.177

• Conclusions: Overall, the balance of evidence indicates that use of LES [low-energy sweeteners] in place of sugar, in children and adults, leads to reduced EI [energy intake] and BW [body weight], and possibly also when compared with water.
• Conflict of interest: Peter J Rogers has received grants from Sugar Nutrition, UK in support of research on the effects of sugar on human appetite. Cees de Graaf has received grants from the Dutch Sugar Bureau in support of a study on brain responses to sugars and low energy sweeteners. Suzanne Higgs has received a grant from Canderel in support of research on the effects of low-energy sweeteners on human appetite. Anne Lluch and David J Mela are employees and shareholders of companies that manufacture products containing sugars and low-energy sweeteners. Peter Putz is an employee of ILSI Europe.

Walnut ingestion in adults at risk for diabetes: effects on body composition, diet quality, and cardiac risk measures Valentine Yanchou Njike, Rockiy Ayettey, Paul Petraro, Judith A Treu, David L Katz.  . BMJ Open Diabetes Research and Care 2015;3:e000115. doi:10.1136/bmjdrc-2015- 000115.

• Conclusions: The inclusion of walnuts in an ad libitum diet for 6 months, with or without dietary counseling to adjust calorie intake, significantly improved diet quality, endothelial function, total and LDL cholesterol, but had no effects on anthropometric measures, blood glucose level, and blood pressure.
• Funding: Funding for this study has been provided by the California Walnut Commission.
• Competing interests. DLK has been compensated for public speaking by the California Walnut Commission.

On Friday, the University of Colorado School of Medicine announced that it was giving back the $1 million that Coca-Cola had donated to fund the Global Energy Balance Network.

This is the group of scientists funded by Coca-Cola who were promoting activity as the best way to prevent obesity, but playing down any contribution of soft drinks and junk food to weight gain (see my post on this).

This is the fourth impressive result of the investigative report by Anahad O’Connor in the New York Times in August that revealed Coca-Cola’s funding of such initiatives.

1. Coke’s chief executive, Muhtar Kent, disclosed that the company had spent almost $120 million since 2010 to pay for partnerships with medical and community health groups, and promised that the company would be more transparent.
2. Coca-Cola set up a transparency website where it revealed the list of funded organizations.
3. Coke ended its relationships with the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, the American Academy for Pediatrics, and the American Academy of Family Practice (or these groups pulled out—everyone seems to want to credit).
4. Now this. Coke says it will donate the returned money to the Boys & Girls Clubs of America.

I am quoted in this story:

Marion Nestle, a professor of nutrition, food studies and public health at New York University, called the network “a front group” for Coca-Cola intended to promote the message that obesity is primarily caused by a lack of exercise, not by overconsumption of junk food.

On Friday, Dr. Nestle, the author of “Soda Politics,” said she was pleased that the university had returned the money.

“Both deserve congratulations for making a difficult but necessary decision,” said Dr. Nestle. “Let’s hope other groups also decide to do the right thing and end such financial relationships.”

Next?

I’ve managed to collect another five industry-sponsored studies with results that the funder must love, bringing the total to 75 since mid-March.  As always, please keep your eye out for industry-funded studies that are contrary to the sponsor’s interests.  I’ve only managed to find 6 so far.

Dairy products consumption and metabolic syndrome in adults: systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies.  Guo-Chong Chen, Ignatius M. Y. Szeto, Li-Hua Chen, Shu-Fen Han, Yan-Jie Li, Rina van Hekezen, and Li-Qiang Qin^.. Science Reports. 2015; 5: 14606. Published online 2015 Sep 29. doi:  10.1038/srep14606

• Conclusions: Higher dairy consumption significantly reduced MetS [metabolic syndrome] by 17% in the cross-sectional/case-control studies…and by 14%…in cohort studies….Our findings suggest an inverse dose-response relationship between dairy consumption and risk of MetS.
• Funding: This study was supported by Yili Innovation Center, Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group Co., Ltd. The funding source had no role in the design or conduct of the study; collection, management, analysis, or interpretation of the data; or preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript.
• Comment: The Yili Group is a privately owned Chinese company headquartered in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, engaged in processing and manufacturing milk products, including ice-cream, powdered milk, milk tea powder, sterilized milk and fresh milk.

Energy compensation following consumption of sugar‑reduced products: a randomized controlled trial.  Oonagh Markey · Julia Le Jeune · Julie A. Lovegrove  Eur J Nutr First online: 09 September 2015 DOI 10.1007/s00394-015-1028-5.

• Conclusion: Consumption of sugar-reduced products, as part of a blinded dietary exchange for an 8-week period, resulted in a significant reduction in sugar intake. Body weight did not change significantly, which we propose was due to energy compensation.
• Conflict of interest. This work was supported by Sugar Nutrition UK; however, the sponsor had no input into the study hypothesis and design, data analysis and interpretation.
• Comment: It is in the interest of sugar trade associations to demonstrate that eating less sugar has no effect on body weight. 

Trends in Sugar-Sweetened Beverages: Are Public Health and the Market Aligned or in Conflict?  William Shrapnel.  Nutrients 2015, 7(9), 8189-8198; doi:10.3390/nu7095390.

• Conclusions: drinks containing non-nutritive sweeteners enable the “small change” in health behaviour that individuals are willing to consider…Among those who currently consume carbonated beverages, the “small change” involved in moving from a sugar-sweetened beverage to a similar sugar-free beverage appears to be one that some consumers are willing to accept.  Facilitating this change may be a more productive public health strategy than advocacy for taxation of sugar-sweetened beverages.
• Author disclosure: William Shrapnel was paid a consultancy fee by the Australian Beverage Council Ltd. to prepare this paper…The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Dietary Intervention for Overweight and Obese Adults: Comparison of Low-Carbohydrate and Low-Fat Diets. A Meta-Analysis.  Jonathan Sackner-Bernstein, David Kanter,  Sanjay Kaul.  PLoS One, October 20, 2015.  DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0139817.

• Conclusions: In conclusion, this trial-level meta-analysis of 17 randomized controlled trials shows that both LoCHO and LoFAT diets are effective in reducing weight. However, LoCHO diet appears to achieve greater weight loss and reduction in predicted risk of ASCVD [atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease] events compared with LoFAT diet. On the basis of these results, we suggest that dietary recommendations for weight loss should be revisited to consider this additional evidence of the benefits of LoCHO diets.
• Funding: The study was supported by Atkins Nutritionals….Jonathan Sackner-Bernstein owns and may receive compensation from ExVivos, LLC. ExVivos, LLC provided payment to authors (DK and SK) for their role as contractors to ExVivos, LLC.
• Comment: ExVivos, LLC has one employee—Jonathan Sackner-Bernstein.  Atkins Nutritionals markets a low-carbohydrate diet plan.

Breast-feeding and postpartum maternal weight trajectories.  Laura Mullaney, Amy C O’Higgins, Shona Cawley, Rachel Kennedy, Daniel McCartney and Michael J Turner.

• Conclusions: There are many reasons why breast-feeding should be strongly promoted but we found no evidence to support postpartum weight management as an advantage of breast-feeding.
• Financial support: This project was supported by the UCD Centre for Human Reproduction and was partially funded by an unlimited educational grant from Danone Nutricia Early Life Nutrition for the first author.
• Comment: Food companies often provide scholarships for doctoral research.  This particular arrangement raises some tough questions: Should dissertation research supervisors allow their students to accept such funding?  Or does accepting such an award run the risk of compromising the integrity of the student’s work?

Do sugar-sweetened beverages increase the risk of high blood pressure?

Yes, says this study, which was conducted by investigators who accept research funding from Coca-Cola and the Calorie Control Council (a trade association for companies that make or use artificial sweeteners).  But the study itself was funded by independent government agencies or health associations in Canada.

I’m counting it in the category of studies with results unfavorable to the food industry sponsors.

This brings the score to 70 industry-funded studies since mid-March with results favorable to the sponsor, to 6 with unfavorable results.

Sugar-sweetened beverage consumption and incident hypertension: a systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective cohorts.  Viranda H Jayalath, Russell J de Souza, Vanessa Ha, Arash Mirrahimi, Sonia Blanco-Mejia, Marco Di Buono, Alexandra L Jenkins, Lawrence A Leiter, Thomas MS Wolever, Joseph Beyene, Cyril WC Kendall, David JA Jenkins, and John L Sievenpiper.  Am J Clin Nutr 2015; 102:914-921 doi:10.3945/ajcn.115.107243.

• Conclusions: SSBs were associated with a modest risk of developing hypertension in 6 cohorts. There is a need for high-quality randomized trials to assess the role of SSBs in the development of hypertension and its complications.
• Funding: “The Canadian Institutes of Health Research…through the Canada-wide Human Nutrition Trialists’ Network and by the Diet, Digestive Tract, and Disease (3D) Centre, which is funded through the Canada Foundation for Innovation.  The Ministry of Research and Innovation’s Ontario Research Fund provided the infrastructure for the conduct of this project.”  Some of the investigators also received funds from Canadian government agencies or health associations.
• Authors’ funding disclosures: RJdS has received research support from the Calorie Control Council and the Coca-Cola Company…ALJ is a part owner, vice president, and director of research of Glycemic Index Laboratories, Toronto, Canada….JB has received research support from the Calorie Control Council and The Coca-Cola Company…CWCK has received research support from the Calorie Control Council, the Coca-Cola Company (investigator initiated, unrestricted grant), Hain Celestial, Kellogg, Kraft, Loblaw Companies Ltd., Solae, and Unilever…DJAJ has received research grants from Loblaw Companies Ltd., Unilever, the Coca-Cola Company… JLS has received research support from the Calorie Control Council and the Coca-Cola Company…travel funding, speaker fees, or honoraria from the Calorie Control Council, the Canadian Sugar Institute, World Sugar Research Organization, White Wave Foods, Abbott Laboratories, Dairy Farmers of Canada, Dr. Pepper Snapple Group, The Coca-Cola Company, and the Corn Refiners Association….

Comment

This is an exception that proves the rule.  In this study, a group of investigators, some—but not all— of whom typically receive funding from food companies, participated in a study funded by Canadian government and health agencies.

One possible explanation is that when investigators typically funded by soda companies are funded independently,  they design and conduct independent research.

If nothing else, this study is evidence for the need for and value of independent funding of nutrition research.