A surprising new study challenged decades of nutrition advice and gave consumers the green light to eat more red and processed meat.[NEW YORK] A surprising new study challenged decades of nutrition advice and gave consumers the green light to eat more red and processed meat.
The industry group, ILSI, founded by a top Coca-Cola executive four decades ago, has long been accused by the World Health Organization and others of trying to undermine public health recommendations to advance the interests of its corporate members. "Journals require disclosure, and it is always better to disclose fully, if for no other reason than to stay out of trouble when the undisclosed conflicts are exposed," said Marion Nestle, a professor of nutrition, food studies and public health at New York University who studies conflicts of interest in nutrition research.
Dr Johnston said that when he published the sugar study in 2016, he put his connection with the food industry group"front and centre". He said in hindsight he was"naïve" when he agreed to work on the ILSI-funded study about sugar guidelines. It was during a conference call on the sugar study that he realised the extent that industry figures were involved with that organisation. He declined to say who was on the conference call.
Dr Laine said if Dr Johnston had chosen to disclose a financial relationship with the food industry group, it would not have changed the journal's decision to publish the research. What matters to the journal editors and peer-review team, she said, is the fact that the group had clear protocols for examining the data and was transparent about its methods.