Do Sugar-Sweetened Beverages Cause Obesity and Diabetes? Industry and the Manufacture of Scientific Controversy
Authors: Dean Schillinger, Jessica Tran, Christina Mangurian, Cristin Kearns
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2016)

Letters20 December 2016Do Sugar-Sweetened Beverages Cause Obesity and Diabetes? Industry and the Manufacture of Scientific ControversyDean Schillinger, MD, Jessica Tran, BA, Christina Mangurian, MD, MS, and Cristin Kearns, DDS, MBADean Schillinger, MDFrom University of California, San Francisco, and Center for Vulnerable Populations at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, San Francisco, California; University of California, San Francisco, Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies and School of Dentistry, San Francisco, California.Search for more papers by this author, Jessica Tran, BAFrom University of California, San Francisco, and Center for Vulnerable Populations at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, San Francisco, California; University of California, San Francisco, Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies and School of Dentistry, San Francisco, California.Search for more papers by this author, Christina Mangurian, MD, MSFrom University of California, San Francisco, and Center for Vulnerable Populations at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, San Francisco, California; University of California, San Francisco, Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies and School of Dentistry, San Francisco, California.Search for more papers by this author, and Cristin Kearns, DDS, MBAFrom University of California, San Francisco, and Center for Vulnerable Populations at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, San Francisco, California; University of California, San Francisco, Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies and School of Dentistry, San Francisco, California.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/L16-0534 SectionsSupplemental MaterialAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail This article has been corrected. The original version (PDF) is appended to this article as a Supplement.Background: The outcomes of recent regulatory initiatives, tax measures, and federal nutritional guidance designed to curb consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) have hinged on whether these beverages are a proven cause of obesity and diabetes. The SSB industry has opposed such initiatives, claiming that causation is scientifically controversial (1). We comprehensively surveyed the literature to determine whether experimental studies that found no association between SSBs and obesity- and diabetes-related outcomes (negative studies) are more likely than positive studies to have received financial support ...References1. Schillinger D, Jacobson MF. Science and public health on trial: warning notices on advertisements for sugary drinks. JAMA. 2016;316:1545-6. [PMID: 27479332] doi:10.1001/jama.2016.10516 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar2. Lesser LI, Ebbeling CB, Goozner M, Wypij D, Ludwig DS. Relationship between funding source and conclusion among nutrition-related scientific articles. PLoS Med. 2007;4:e5. [PMID: 17214504] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. Nestle M. Corporate funding of food and nutrition research: science or marketing? JAMA Intern Med. 2016;176:13-4. [PMID: 26595855] doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2015.6667 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. Mandrioli D, Kearns CE, Bero LA. Relationship between research outcomes and risk of bias, study sponsorship, and author financial conflicts of interest in reviews of the effects of artificially sweetened beverages on weight outcomes: a systematic review of reviews. PLoS One. 2016;11:e0162198. [PMID: 27606602] doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0162198 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar5. Stanhope KL. Sugar consumption, metabolic disease and obesity: the state of the controversy. Crit Rev Clin Lab Sci. 2016;53:52-67. [PMID: 26376619] doi:10.3109/10408363.2015.1084990 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: From University of California, San Francisco, and Center for Vulnerable Populations at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, San Francisco, California; University of California, San Francisco, Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies and School of Dentistry, San Francisco, California.Grant Support: Dr. Schillinger was supported by grant 2P30DK092924-06. Ms. Tran was supported by grant 5T32DK007418-35. Dr. Mangurian was supported by grant K23MH093689. Dr. Kearns was supported by National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research grant DE-007306.Disclosures: Disclosures can be viewed at www.acponline.org/authors/icmje/ConflictOfInterestForms.do?msNum=L16-0534.Editors' Note Regarding Disclosures (added 22 December 2016): The editors have become aware after publication of an activity relevant to the content of this article that was not included on the authors' disclosure forms. Drs. Schillinger and Kearns are affiliated with SugarScience.org. They report that they did not include this relationship with SugarScience.org on their conflict-of-interest disclosures because their contributions to SugarScience.org is part of their regular work duties at University of California San Francisco. For information about SugarScience.org, see www.SugarScience.org.This article was published at www.annals.org on 1 November 2016. 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