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The European Journal of Public Health, Vol. 29, No.

5, 810–815
 The Author(s) 2018. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Public Health Association. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1093/eurpub/cky175 Advance Access published on 29 August 2018
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Research partnerships between Coca-Cola and health
organizations in Spain
Juan Pablo Rey-López1, Carlos A. Gonzalez2

1 Prevention Research Collaboration, School of Public Health, Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW,
Australia
2 Unit of Nutrition and Cancer, Catalan Institute of Oncology (ICO), Barcelona, Spain

Correspondence: Juan Pablo Rey-López, Prevention Research Collaboration, School of Public Health, Sydney Medical
School, The University of Sydney, L6 West, Hub D17, NSW, 2006, Australia, Tel: +61 0286275484, e-mail:
juan.reylopez@sydney.edu.au

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Background: The reduction of soda intake in the population remains an important goal to improve population
health. Concerns exist about how industry-sponsored studies in nutrition tend to favour the interest of the
sponsor. We describe the scope of partnerships between Coca-Cola and health organizations in Spain,
examining marketing strategies contained in scientific papers funded by Coca-Cola. Methods: Funding for
health organizations in Spain during 2010–2016 was retrieved of the Coca-Cola transparency list. We systematically
searched research projects and publications (by PubMed) of all the recipient organizations. In addition, we char-
acterize the research agenda and the level of alignment of sponsored authors with marketing strategies used by
Coca-Cola. Results: A total of 74 health organizations received funding from Coca-Cola between 2010 and 2016.
Nutritional and cardiology organizations received the highest financial support. A total of 20 articles derived of
two research projects were identified. Most publications (14 out of 20) were aligned with marketing strategies
used by Coca-Cola (e.g. focusing on physical inactivity as the main cause of obesity). Authors identified did not
disclose having previous conflicts of interest. Conclusions: In Spain, numerous health organizations receive
financial support from Coca-Cola. We provide evidence that research funded by this beverage company is
serving its commercial objectives that, in many cases, are at odds with efforts to improve population health.
Problems with transparency among authors and the recipient organizations imply that we are offering very
conservative estimates about the impact of this company on public health.
.........................................................................................................

Introduction uncritically marketing strategies designed by big soda companies.6


Examples of marketing strategies are: to rise doubts about the
he consumption of sodas (carbonated and flavoured drinks scientific evidence accumulated, to deflect the attention towards
Tcontaining sugars) remains one important global public health other health risk factors and to emphasize the responsibility of
problem.1 There is strong evidence that the soda consumption consumers in public health matters.6
increases the risk of diabetes2 and obesity in humans.2 Soda con- The financial ties between big soda and health organizations were
sumption also increases the risk of hypertension, stroke, coronary recently documented in USA.7 However, the influence of big soda on
heart disease and dental caries (moderate evidence).2 Today, health organizations in other settings is unknown.
numerous health organizations recommend to limit the consump- The main objectives of this study were: first, to describe the scope
tion of soda (the World Health Organization, WHO; American of sponsorships between Coca-Cola and health organizations in one
Academy of Pediatrics; American Heart Association; Centers for European country, Spain. Second, to identify scientific publications
Disease Control and Prevention and the American Diabetes of research projects funded by Coca-Cola in Spain, characterizing
Association). In March 2015, the WHO called on national govern- the research agenda and the level of alignment of strategies used by
ments to institute policies to reduce the intake of added sugars in the Coca-Cola. Finally, to analyse the level of transparency (disclosure of
population.1 One intervention to decrease the soda intake in the conflicts of interest) of authors sponsored by Coca-Cola in Spain.
population includes a soda tax. Some localities in USA, one region
in Spain (Catalonia) and countries such as Finland, France,
Hungary, Ireland, Mexico, Norway, Philippines, South Africa, Methods
United Arab Emirates and United Kingdom have passed soda We restricted the scope of our research to one big soda company
taxes until now. In November 2016, the Spanish government (Coca-Cola), because it recently adopted a transparency initiative in
announced a soda tax, although some months later it backtracked some countries (such as Australia, United Kingdom, Spain, the
alluding a negative impact on the economy of sugar beet farmers.3 United States of America: USA) after the New York Times
To counter governmental actions aimed to reduce soda consump- revealed the financial ties between Coca-Cola and the Global
tion, big soda companies use numerous subtle strategies to safeguard Energy Balance network.8
their profits (reminiscent of those used by the tobacco and alcohol
industries).4 A recent publication that analysed the communication
between two-former vice presidents of Coca-Cola, demonstrated the Identification of health organizations funded by
interest of this company to influence on the scientific evidence and Coca-Cola
the government policies around health and nutrition.5 To achieve To identify health organizations sponsored by Coca-Cola in Spain
this goal, big soda establish alliances with health professionals (e.g. (Coca-Cola Iberia), we extracted the information provided by Coca-
sponsoring scientific congresses or research projects).6 This alliance Cola in its website (last update 12 April 2017). Available at: http://
has potential risks for public health because conflicted researchers www.cocacolaespana.es/nutricion/colaboraciones-y-becas-investigacion/
may prevent any critical view against the sponsor, and tend to adopt colaboraciones-y-becas-investigacion-listado-organizaciones. This
Research partnerships between Coca-Cola and health organizations in Spain 811

source of information includes details of organizations based in Data extraction


Spain that were funded between January 2010 to December 2016
Two reviewers independently extracted information of each
(accessed between 7 January and 1 June 2017). The list contains
identified publication using one structured form: principal investi-
diverse types of collaborations between Coca-Cola and Spanish
gator name and centre; project title and year; name of the journal
health organizations (i.e. congresses, research projects, research
and year of publication; main exposures and outcomes variables
grants, organization of sporting events or health initiatives, etc).
used; type of study design; whether authors acknowledged the
financial support of Coca-Cola’s for that project and the existence
Identification of scientific projects and scientific of conflicts of interests or not.
articles funded by Coca-Cola
To identify research projects funded by Coca-Cola, two authors Evaluation of the level of alignment with the industry
(J.P.R.L. and C.A.G.) independently read the Coca-Cola list (see
Two investigators (J.P.R.L. and C.A.G.) independently scored whether
Supplementary table S1). Any research project that was mentioned
articles were aligned (or not) with marketing strategies of Coca-Cola.
in the Coca-Cola transparency list was inserted in Pubmed
Aligned was defined when publications employed marketing strategies
(in separate searches). The description of the search strategy used
described in the literature, see Chapters 17 and 19 of Marion Nestle
to identify scientific articles that were matching the names of the
book ‘Soda politics. Taking on big soda (and winning)’.6

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projects included in the transparency list can be found in
Supplementary table S2. However, the search strategies used were (1) Reframing the causes of obesity: when authors deflected
in general not effective because we did not find scientific publica- attention from the contribution of sugars (or sodas) to
tions tagged with the names of the projects described in the Coca- obesity, putting emphasis on the preventive role of physical
Cola list. Problems with the identification of scientific publications activity, or avoiding excessive time in sedentary behaviours or
using the transparency list could obey to two main reasons. On one other dietary factors.
hand, Coca-Cola may sponsor projects that do not produce publi- (2) Hydration for health or sport performance. This marketing
cations in peer-reviewed biomedical journals. On the other hand, the strategy rests on the principle that people need to ingest
Coca-Cola transparency list may contain incomplete data or tiny regular fluids to maintain health or optimize sport performance.
errors in the names provided to hamper any initiative to reveal People is encouraged to consume a wide variety of fluids
their influence in the scientific literature. Thus, in order to (including sodas) regardless they are thirsty or not. In sports
maximize the identification of projects (and publications) we events, the serious risks of over-hydration have been highlighted
followed a complementary search strategy. We typed in Google the elsewhere.10
(3) Keep you in energy balance: when authors framed the problem
name of the projects (described in the Coca-Cola transparency list)
of obesity due to inadequate nutritional choices among individ-
to find direct evidences that the recipient organizations/researchers
uals or a lack of personal responsibility in relation to adopting
(described in the transparency list) had received funding for projects healthy eating and drinking habits (a moderate consumption of
with almost identical names to those depicted in the transparency unhealthy foods or beverages is allowed).
list. Again, this complementary strategy was in general ineffective to (4) Challenging the strength of the evidence: when authors rose
identify additional publications as we only identified one renamed doubts about the scientific evidence accumulated in relation
project. Typing in Google the project known as ‘Piramide de estilos to the consumption of sugars and health outcomes.
de vida saludable’ (recipient group: the Polytechnic University of
Madrid) helped us to find a website of research group (IMFIME) When we did not identify any of the above four marketing strategies
(http://www.imfine.es/es/blog/27-pir%C3%A1mide.html (accessed we scored them as neutral. Not-applicable was applied to articles whose
10 March 2017). In this portal, we found inserted one scientific unique purpose was descriptive, and consequently, authors could not
publication whose title was ‘La piramide del estilo de vida para express relationships between exposure and health outcomes.
niños y adolescentes’9 which gave us hints of being a genuine
project sponsored by Coca-Cola. Finally, after reading the INFIME
website (10 March 2017 date accessed) http://www.imfine.es/es/ Results
proyectos/contratos-de-investigaci%C3%B3n.html; we could dem-
onstrate that Coca-Cola had sponsored ‘Piramide de Estilos de Supplementary table S1 describes the extension of Coca-Cola sponsor-
Vida Saludable’ (Project number: P0611001003). ships to organizations or institutions in Spain from 1 January 2010 to
31 December 2016. A total of 74 Spanish health organizations accepted
funds from Coca-Cola resulting in a total investment of 6 204 296
Eligibility criteria of the articles euros. The typology of the health organizations was varied: nutritional
Two investigators (J.P.R.L. and C.A.G.) independently screened all organizations (n = 16); universities or university foundations (n = 14);
the publications obtained in Pubmed. We considered as eligible pharmaceutical organizations (n = 4); nursery associations (n = 3);
publications if: paediatric organizations (n = 2); sports medicine associations (n = 2);
celiac federations or societies (n = 2); non-governmental organizations
(1) Articles related with one of the projects disclosed in the Coca-
(n = 2); ageing, geriatric or gerontology organizations (n = 2); diabetes
Cola list (since January 2010 until December 2016).
organizations (n = 2); exercise research groups (n = 2); health founda-
(2) Type of publication eligible: randomized controlled trials or
observational studies or systematic/narrative reviews, tions (n = 2); national or regional academies of medicine (n = 2) and
editorials, commentaries or view-points. We excluded gastroenterology societies (n = 2). Others less prevalent included heart
abstracts from Congresses and Letters to the Editor or related organizations, dental foundations, women’s health institutes,
research protocols articles, because these publication formats primary care societies, physiological societies, gerontology organiza-
did not contain enough information to evaluate conflicts of tions, gynaecology organizations and environmental health societies.
interest or examined marketing strategies. A summary of Supplementary table S1 with health organizations that
(3) We applied restrictions by language (only articles published in received at least 100 000 euros is shown in table 1.
English or Spanish) and date (publications produced since the The main aim of the established collaborations was educational,
date in which that each research project appeared in the Coca- organization of Congresses, Symposiums and Conferences (in 66
Cola list). organizations). Other collaborations included:
If case of any disagreement among reviewers, a third researcher  Research projects (in six organizations) and fellowships (in nine
helped to achieve a consensus. organizations).
812 European Journal of Public Health

Table 1 Health organizations that received the highesta funding


from Coca-Cola in Spain between 2010 and 2016

Health related organizations Money (euros)

Iberoamerican Nutrition Foundation (FINUT) 723 640


Spanish Heart Foundation 560 725
Spanish Nutrition Foundation (FEN) 420 251
Foundation For Science, Health and Education: SHE 362 766
Foundation
Spanish Paediatric Association 349 766
Spanish Society of Primary Care (SEMERGEN 336 454
Foundation)
Spanish Society for Community Nutrition (SENC) 288 393
Diabetes Foundation 288 100
University Polytechnic Madrid (UPM) 243 085
Spanish Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics 242 600
Spanish Federation of Nutrition, Food and Dietetic 155 000
Associations (FESNAD)

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Spanish Society of Nutrition and Endocrinology 151 380
Spanish Foundation of Dieticians and Nutritionists 149 950
Alimentomica-Technology based company and 143 000
SpinOff
Palacios Institute-Women’s Health 123 550
Diario Medico (Journal) 101 376
Subtotal 4 640 036
Other 1 564 260
Total (all) 6 204 296 Figure 1 Studies identified of research partnership between Coca-
Cola and health organizations in Spain, 2010–2016
a: List of organizations that received at least 100 000 euros.

groups or dietary patterns (food timing or frequency of meals).


 Training courses on nutrition, exercise physiology or healthy Rising doubts about the scientific evidence linking soda intake
lifestyles (in five organizations). with health problems was observed in five articles, whereas
 Publicity campaigns of water and low calorie soda drinks in the strategies based on the importance of hydration (n = 2) or the
websites of the recipient organization (in three organizations). individual responsibility to keep you in energy balance (n = 2)
 Development of hydration guidelines (in four organizations). were less used among authors. Finally, 17 out of 20 articles
 National hydration campaigns (in one organization). authors acknowledged the financial support of Coca-Cola, but
 Stands in events related to prevention of chronic diseases (one none of the authors disclosed have had any previous conflicts of
organization). interest.
 Organization of sports or walking events (in three organizations).
 Development of food books-photography (in two organizations).
 Annual patronage fees for the recipient organizations (in two Discussion
organizations).
This study described the scope of partnerships between Coca-Cola
Our search strategy identified a total of 20 scientific articles11–30 and health organizations in Spain and examined marketing
(figure 1 and table 2) derived of projects funded by Coca-Cola strategies contained in any section of scientific papers funded by
(n = 2). Almost all articles (n = 18) included observational study Coca-Cola. The major contributions of our study to the existing
designs (cross-sectional), with two additional narrative reviews. literature were:
Articles were published in the following journals: Nutrients First, our analyses shows that at least 74 health organizations were
(n = 9); Nutricion Hospitalaria (n = 5); Plos One (n = 2); Biomed sponsored by Coca-Cola in Spain during the period 2010–2016; with
Research International (n = 1); Public Health Nutrition (n = 1); a total investment above 6 million euros. In a similar way, Aaron et
BMC Public Health (n = 1); Journal of American College of al.7 reported that during 2011–2015 a total of 83 health organiza-
Nutrition (n = 1). tions accepted funds of Coca-Cola in USA. Although recipient or-
The most studied exposure variables were: physical activity ganizations and investigators deny the existence of biases in research
(n = 5), sedentary behaviour (n = 5) and beverages (n = 5). Other caused by food and beverage companies, the best scientific evidence
exposures variables included energy intake (n = 3), dietary does not support such arguments. A recent meta-analysis found that
patterns (n = 2), vitamin and minerals (n = 2), sleep (n = 1), industry-sponsored studies in nutrition were more likely to have
smoking (n = 1), sports drinks (n = 1), education (n = 1), income conclusions favourable to industry than non-industry-sponsored
(n = 1), obesity (n = 1), sugar (n = 1), fibre (n = 1), food timing studies.31 Our results are in line with this finding, as we found
(n = 1). Regarding outcomes variables, authors were mostly that in 14 out of 20 articles authors employed marketing strategies
focused on obesity (n = 7). Other outcomes were energy intake to favour the commercial interests of Coca-Cola. The most prevalent
(n = 2), hydration levels (n= 1), proportion of macronutrients strategy was to focus on physical activity and sedentary behaviours
(n = 1) or parental education (n = 1). as key obesogenic risk factors. The underlying causes that have
In 14 out of 20 articles, authors were aligned with commercial precipitated a rapid rise in the prevalence of obesity in the world
strategies of Coca-Cola. We could not judge the level of alignment is a topic of intense debate among scholars interested in obesity;32–34
with soda industry in some publications due to insufficient amount but today it is sufficiently clear that some voices of this debate had
of information available to evaluate them (n = 5) (non-applicable); blatant conflicts of interest.8
and one article was scored as neutral. A second major finding was to observe that despite the announced
Among aligned articles (n = 14), the most used strategy among transparency efforts of Coca-Cola in different countries (i.e. lists of
authors (n = 6) was to reframe the obesogenic factors on physical transparency about their research activities and its public position to
activity or sedentary behaviours or other non-sugar based food benefit public health), these initiatives may indeed represent
Table 2 Scientific projects sponsored by Coca-Cola between 2010 and 2016 in Spain and their derived publications

Principal investigator/ Project title References Journal/Year Type Main exposures Main outcomes Coca-Cola support Conflicts of Aligned with Coca-Cola
centre and year of study disclosed interest disclosed marketing strategies,
neutral or NA
11
MGG/Polytechnic Piramide de estilos de Nutr Hosp/2013 Review Physical activity Obesity hydration Yes None Aligned (Strategy 1, 2)
University of Madrid vida saludable Sport drinks
(2006–2017) Sedentary behaviours
12
GVM/University San ANIBES (2012–2017) Nutrients/2015 Cross-sectional Energy intake – Yes None Aligned (Strategy 3,4)
Pablo CEU (Madrid)
13
Nutr Hosp/2015 Cross-sectional Energy intake – No None Aligned (Strategy 1)
14
Nutrients/2015 Cross-sectional Physical activity Obesity Yes None Aligned (Strategy 1, 4)
Sedentary behaviours
Food groups
15
Plos One/2016 Cross-sectional Physical activity – Yes None NA
16
Nutrients/2016 Cross-sectional Energy intake – Yes None Aligned (Strategy 4)
17
Nutrients/2016 Cross-sectional Beverages Energy intake Yes None Aligned (Strategy 4)
18
Biomed Res Int/2016 Cross-sectional Obesity – Yes None NA
19
Nutr Hosp/2016 Cross-sectional Beverages Energy intake No None Aligned (Strategy 3)
20
Nutr Hosp/2016 Cross-sectional Beverages Nutrients Yes None Aligned (Strategy 4)
21
Nutr Hosp/2016 Review Physical activity Parental education No None Neutral
Sedentary behaviours
Dietary patterns
22
Plos One/2016 Cross-sectional Physical activity Obesity Yes None Aligned (Strategy 1)
TV viewing
Sleep
Smoking
Education
Income
23
J Am Coll Nutr/2017 Cross-sectional Food and beverages Obesity Yes None Aligned (Strategy 1, 4)
24
BMC Public Health/2017 Cross-sectional Sedentary behaviour – Yes None NA
25
Nutrients/2017 Cross-sectional Micronutrients – Yes None NA
(Ca, Mg, P, Vit D)
26
Nutrients/2017 Cross-sectional Micronutrients (Fe) – Yes None NA
27
Nutrients/2017 Cross-sectional Sugar intake – Yes None Aligned (Strategy 4)
28
Nutrients/2017 Cross-sectional Fibre intake Obesity Yes None Aligned (Strategy 1)
29
Public Health Nutr/2017 Cross-sectional Food patterns Obesity Yes None Aligned (Strategy 1)
(food timing)
30
Nutrients/2017 Cross-sectional Beverages – Yes None Aligned (Strategy 2)

Ref., Reference; NA, Non-applicable.


Aligned was defined when publications employed marketing strategies described in the literature6: (i) Reframing the causes of obesity: when authors deflected attention from the contribution of
sugars (or sodas) to obesity, putting emphasis on the preventive role of physical activity or avoiding excessive time in sedentary behaviours or other dietary factors; (ii) Hydration for health or sport
performance. This marketing strategy rests on the principle that people need to ingest regular fluids to maintain health or optimize sport performance. People is encouraged to consume a wide
variety of fluids (including sodas) regardless they are thirsty or not; (iii) Keep you in energy balance: when authors framed the problem of obesity due to inadequate nutritional choices among
individuals or a lack of personal responsibility in relation to adopting healthy eating and drinking habits (a moderate consumption of unhealthy foods or beverages is allowed); (iv) Challenging the
strength of the evidence: when authors rose doubts about the scientific evidence accumulated in relation to the consumption of sugars and health outcomes.
Research partnerships between Coca-Cola and health organizations in Spain
813

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814 European Journal of Public Health

‘healthwashing’ strategies (activities promoted by Coca-Cola to Our study has some important implications for future research on
promote the message that it is a leader in the crusade for good this topic and for policymakers. The lack of transparency found in
health, while engaging in practices that are contributing to ill- this study among authors and organizations sponsored by Coca-
health). It is noticeable that the Coca-Cola list in Spain contained Cola demonstrates that organizations related with health (whose
numerous names of projects that were not useful to map their mission should be to promote health and education based on the
research activities. In addition, we detected errors in the Coca- best available evidence) have been hijacked by companies that harm
Cola transparency list. For example, we contacted the population health. Therefore, it seems urgent to promote a set of
‘Iberoamerican Nutrition Foundation’ (FINUT) to obtain further initiatives (i.e. regulations) to protect peoples’s health. We provide
information about one grant related to the ACTIVATE project. evidence that biomedical research funded by this beverage company
FINUT negated any involvement in grants for the ACTIVATE is serving its commercial objectives that, in many cases, are at odds
project. Nevertheless, FINUT declared to us that they have been with efforts to improve population health.
recently involved in the project ACTIBATE yet its personnel
reserved further opinion on the matter. The ACTIBATE project, Supplementary data
funded by Spanish governmental agencies and some pharmaceutical
companies, examines the effect of exercise on the activation of Supplementary data are available at EURPUB online.
brown adipose tissue as a way to prevent obesity and treat cardio-

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metabolic diseases.35 According to Serodio et al.36 Coca-Cola may be
shaping the research agenda according to their commercial interests
Acknowledgements
by its influence on the study design and the selection of hypotheses We are very grateful of the valuable intellectual contribution of Alice
(through a direct contact with one or few researchers). Fabbri and Lisa Bero to prepare and revise this article. We also wish
Another finding in agreement with the literature6 was to ascertain to express our most sincere gratitude to Antonio Agudo for his
how Coca-Cola in Spain has recruited a world-renowned cardiolo- guidance and advice in the preparation of this article.
gist as a chairman of the SHE foundation whose main mission is to
promote healthy habits in the population through education
campaigns. Partnerships between health professionals and
Disclaimer
industries that harm public health should be viewed as ‘marketing’ The content of the paper is solely the responsibility of the authors
strategies that the soda industry deploys to safeguard their profits.36 and does not necessarily represent the official view of the University
of Sydney or the Catalan Institute of Oncology.

Limitations of the study


First, the conclusions of our study are mainly drawn based on the Key points
information published by Coca-Cola in Spain in its transparency list.
However, a recent publication36 demonstrated that the transparency  Our study found that Coca-Cola in Spain sponsored at least
lists published by Coca-Cola in countries such as UK, France, 74 health organizations during the period 2010–2016.
Germany, Australia, New Zealand and Spain are far from  Most sponsored publications were aligned with Coca-Cola’s
complete. Despite this important limitation, we were able to marketing strategies (e.g. ignoring the harms caused by soda
identify publications (using data available in internet) related with intake and focusing on the key role of physical inactivity or
one project sponsored by Coca-Cola,9,11 and also articles published sedentary behaviours to prevent or treat obesity).
on behalf of health organizations present in the Coca-Cola list. For  Nutritional and cardiology organizations received the
example, publications from paediatric37 or exercise38 organizations highest financial support from Coca-Cola. These findings
only focusing on physical activity as the main solution to deal with reflect the interest of this company to reframe the main
the obesity epidemic; or claiming that diet drinks may be helpful to causes of obesity and cardiovascular disease to protect its
prevent obesity or diabetes in children.39 financial interests.
Second, problems with the lack of transparency also extend to
universities listed in the Coca-Cola list. That is, we emailed several
universities to gather further information about the data contained Funding
in the transparency Coca-Cola list when their centres were This work did not received any type of funding to be conducted.
mentioned. Mostly, universities did not reply our emails. When JPRL is supported by a Postdoctoral fellowship from the University
they replied us, they negated the existence of financial relationships of Sydney (Australia) (Project Code: U2334).
between universities and one global initiative funded by Coca-Cola
(‘Exercise is Medicine’). The veracity of these disclosures issued by Conflicts of interest: None declared.
universities seem questionable, as the recipient groups have showed
a large interest to advertise their partnerships with the ‘Exercise is
Medicine initiative’-Spain in the media.40
Third, we did not assess the scientific quality of the studies References
identified.11–30 Despite that, it is worth mentioning that the only 1 World Health Organization. Guideline: Sugars Intake for Adults and Children.
observational project identified (ANIBES) employed a cross- Geneva: World Health Organization, 2015. Available at: http://apps.who.int/iris/
sectional study design, which is a less appropriate design to bitstream/10665/149782/1/9789241549028_eng.pdf (1 June 2017, date last accessed).
establish causal relationships between variables. In addition, it is 2 U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Health and Human
relevant that we identified two additional narrative reviews,11,21 Services (USDA/HHS). Scientific Report of the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory
which are by definition not objective to appraise the scientific Committee. Washington (DC): USDA, Agricultural Research Service, 2015. Available
evidence accumulated. Finally, we did not incorporate network at: https://health.gov/dietaryguidelines/2015-scientific-report/pdfs/scientific-report-
analyses to uncover how the authors in the all publications of-the-2015-dietary-guidelines-advisory-committee.pdf (10 June 2017, date last
identified in our manuscript are connected. This type of analyses36 accessed).
could offer indirect evidence about whom occupy a more central 3 El lobby del azúcar consigue su objetivo al frenar el impuesto sobre los refrescos.
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