STORY AT-A-GLANCE
FOIA documents obtained by U.S. Right to Know show Coca-Cola’s research agreements with certain universities give it the right to review and comment on studies before publication, and intellectual property rights connected to the research
The research contracts also give Coca-Cola control over study data, disclosure of results and acknowledgment of Coca-Cola funding, meaning the company could prevent the researchers from disclosing that their funding came from Coke, as well as the power to terminate studies early, without having to give a reason
Earlier this year, another batch of emails obtained via FOIA requests revealed Coca-Cola lobbied the CDC to advance corporate objectives over health
A (now former) CDC official provided aid and guidance to Coca-Cola in efforts to influence World Health Organization officials into relaxing its sugar limits
A recent Coke-funded study concluded that children with the highest odds of obesity got the least amount of physical activity on both weekdays and weekends. Children with the lowest odds of obesity were the most active throughout the whole week