A new study has concluded that research funded by the American Beverage Association and the soda industry was more likely to find no connection between sweetened beverages and obesity—a link otherwise made in every study that was independently funded.

The study, which was published in the most recent edition of the Annals of Internal Medicine, is the second in recent months to question the legitimacy of scientific research funded by industry associations. A separate study published in September concluded the Sugar Association funded research in the 1960s and 1970s to shift blame for coronary heart disease away from sugar.

Both studies were conducted by University of California, San Francisco researchers. Dean Schillinger, lead author of the soda study and a professor of medicine at the university, told the San Francisco Chronicle his report's conclusions were the "smoking gun" showing industry-funded research is biased.

The study's authors examined 60 scientific studies conducted since 2001 examining whether drinking sweetened beverages lead to obesity or diabetes. Of the 27 studies funded by ABA or the soda industry, only one found a link. The remaining studies were all independently funded and all concluded drinking sweetened beverages had negative health effects.

In addition to being the lead author of the report, Schillinger is a supporter of a proposed 1-cent-per-ounce sales tax on sweetened beverages currently on the November ballot in San Francisco. ABA has spent millions of dollars fighting the proposed tax this election season along with similar ballot measures in two other California cities—Albany and Oakland—and Boulder, Colo.

ABA was quick to point out Schillinger also was paid by San Francisco to be an expert witness in a lawsuit the association brought against the city for requiring health warnings on ads for sweetened beverages.

"This paper is the latest in a trend of pro-tax forces writing speculative opinion papers to influence voters a week before a vote on several ballot initiatives to tax beverages," ABA told the newspaper in a statement. http://bit.ly/2eXYgUK

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