![\"\"](\"https:\/\/stg-blogs.bmj.com\/bjsm\/files\/2011\/06\/coca_cola_camel_drinking_from_bottle.jpg\" "\\"coca_cola_camel_drinking_from_bottle\\"")
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No-one would deny that drinking litres of full-calorie soda drinks (soft drinks) daily increases risk of obesity. But extreme behaviours leading to a biological phenomenon (in this case obesity) do not mean that moderation in those same behaviours cause a mild version of the same problem. Biology is not always linear. The article of interest<\/a> for this blog is from Forbes.com which had\u00a0 so much interesting stuff I spent way too long there.<\/p>\n What was striking recently in the debate about soda drinks and obesity is that ‘investigative journalism’ seemed to go haywire. The ‘investigators (ABC News)’ cast aspersions on a scientist but then were themselves ‘investigated’. Should ABC, or its sources, have declared a conflict? Is this ‘White Hat Bias’ – taking the moral high ground irrespective of what the data say at present. Who really is the culprit here?<\/p>\n BJSM is not an expert in this field so make up your own mind from the link<\/a>. We are fans of Roy Moynihan (see also @RoyMoynihan on Twitter) and Ben Goldacre who have well-researched points about the influence of industry in science.<\/p>\n But working with some corporate partners does not equal bad science. Particularly when relationships are open. The piece we refer you to<\/a> suggests that industry papers were of better quality<\/span> than those funded ‘independently’. This makes for an interesting debate in university courses relating to health, marketing, and law!!<\/p>\n Innocent until proven guilty seems like a good idea. Time for ABC to apologize to David Allison?<\/p>\n BJSM has published some papers on exercise and weight that challenge conventional wisdom<\/a>. (Front cover story December 2009). And we have an important review paper by Neil King and John Blundell<\/a> in Online First (abstract only if you aren’t a BJSM subscriber, sorry) bursting to get drafted into an upcoming issue.<\/p>\n