Coca-Cola Company Bursting With Nutrition Advice and Wisdom

The Coca-Cola Company is partnering with the American Academy of Family Physicians to help teach kids about nutrition. Coke will be the first corporate partner to work with AAFP on materials that “educate consumers about the role their products can play in a healthy, active lifestyle.” I congratulate anyone who can say that with a straight face.

Meanwhile, Coke CEO Muhtar Kent wrote an op-ed piece in the Wall Street Journal arguing that more exercise, not less Coca-Cola, is the solution to our nation’s obesity problem. Well, okay, somewhere in there he did acknowledge that the number of calories consumed plays some role in how fat people get, but it’s not the entirety of the equation, and therefore a soda tax makes no sense whatsoever.

Instead, business and government should come together to help encourage greater physical activity and sensible eating and drinking, while allowing Americans to enjoy the simple pleasure of a Coca-Cola.

The Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation — an industry-based group that officially launched last week — places similar emphasis on the strategy of exercising more so you can justify eating more calories.

It’s a convenient strategy for people who make more money if they sell more food. It’s also a convenient strategy for people who love ice cream, which is why it’s my personal fitness philosophy as well. But I don’t claim to be an objective source for nutrition advice. Neither should Coca-Cola.

My BNET Healthcare colleague Ken Terry had his own take on Coke’s AAFP deal a few days ago.