Industry influences sugar beverage studies

Studies on sugar drinks influenced by financial interests

03/01/2014

In the past, researchers have repeatedly examined the influence of sugary soft drinks on weight. However, the study results differed from each other strongly. Potsdam researchers came to the conclusion that many investigations were influenced by financial interests on the part of industry. In the journal „PLOS Medicine "they present their analysis of the systematic reviews together with colleagues from the University of Navarra in Spain.

Industry-sponsored studies have found largely no link between the consumption of sugar drinks and weight gain
As part of a research collaboration between the German Institute for Human Nutrition (DifE) and the University of Navarra in Spain, scientists revealed that systematic reviews that involved a financial conflict of interest through industrial promotion came to the conclusion five times more frequently that there was no connection between the consumption of sugars Refreshing drinks and weight gain exist as studies for which no funding from the industry had flowed. 83.3 percent of the studies in which there was no conflict of interest showed that high consumption of sugary drinks was directly related to weight gain.

Also, 83.3 percent of the studies that revealed conflicts of interest came to the opposite conclusion. „Although our research was not geared to clarifying which interpretation of the available data is correct, the results give us cause for concern, as they suggest that financial conflicts of interest may influence the conclusions of a review, "explains Matthias Schulze, co-author Head of the Department of Molecular Epidemiology at DIfE.

Systematic reviews attempt to summarize and interpret available knowledge on a topic using specific methods. As the researchers report, the industry-sponsored reviews often found no association between the consumption of sugars and obesity, although the original papers came to the opposite conclusion. This points to inaccuracies that should be considered in statements based on industrially funded studies. (Ag)

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