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Study: Coca-Cola Shaped China's Efforts to Fight Obesity

51 points by sndean 8y ago

chrisseaton 8y ago
> That's bad news for soda giants, who want to grow their market. Hasn't Coca-Cola been extremely pro-active recently in tackling obesity since it became clear that sweet drinks were a major problem? They've almost completely replaced their flagship brand and formula with the zero sugar variant. They're not even promoting it as an alternative any more - the 'Zero' on the cans has been getting smaller and smaller and the black branding has been shrinking as well, and they seem to be getting retailers to suggest it as the default as well. I guess they think they're able to grow their market by being healthier and helping their customers to be healthier.
- knan3 8y ago
  Are you high my friend on cola? Zero has aspartan and other artificial sweetness that triggers your insulin response, and this is the main issue with obesity, don't know about calories in cola per say but insulin makes you eat more and more... healthy and cola in the same sentence.. damm.
  - chrisseaton 8y ago
    > healthy and cola in the same sentence.. damm You're misquoting me - I said 'healthier'. For people who are basically addicted to sweet soft drinks, I think Zero is a healthier alternative and I think it's great that Coca-Cola developed it and is rebranding to it. I think it'll help a lot of people.
    - maxxxxx 8y ago
      "For people who are basically addicted to sweet soft drinks, I think Zero is a healthier alternative." The question is how much healthier it is and how less healthy it is compared to not drinking soda.
    - abrowne 8y ago
      A recent review and meta-analysis in the BMJ found no differences in health outcomes — including weight loss — between people who used artificial sweeteners and those who didn’t. https://www.bmj.com/content/364/bmj.k4718 https://www.bmj.com/content/364/bmj.k4718
      - sosborn 8y ago
        That doesn't mean that the zero calorie soda was a culprit. They biggest determining factor in obesity isn't what food are available to the person, it's what foods the person chooses to eat.
  - atomical 8y ago
    That's not proven. Time to take responsibility for your own actions.
  - SketchySeaBeast 8y ago
    Aspartame doesn't seem to affect your insulin response. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2923074 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2923074 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1946186 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1946186
- tracker1 8y ago
  But, they haven't removed the classic variant. They (Coca-Cola) also have hundreds of brands that push for the sugar variant of those other sodas. That doesn't count the use of sucralose which has other issues, as does aspartame to a lesser degree. If Coca-Cola tomorrow said ("our bad, we're sorry"), switched to a low/zero calorie sweetener blend (Stevia, Erythritol, Monk Fruit maybe a little aspartame) with approximate flavor and completely dropped sugar / HFCS then I'd believe they give a crap about tackling obesity. As it stands, refined sugars are the single biggest problem with metabolic syndrome. Fructose is only metabolized by the liver into fats/triglycerides which are linked to damaging insulin receptors and elevating insulin resistance leading to higher insulin levels suppressing other hormones and leading to weight gain, followed by full on diabetes and related metabolic problems. That doesn't mean you can't have some fruit in your diet... juice should never be more than half a cup a day (which was the old recommendation). And high-sugar tree fruits should be minimized in favor of berries. "Fruits and Vegetables" was grouped because a lot of what people consider veggies are botanically fruit. The sweet fruits should be kept to 2 servings a day tops. Refined sugar shouldn't be consumed more than once every few weeks. It's horrible. All the negative effects on the body of alcohol without the negative reinforcement of a bad headache.
  - monetus 8y ago
    Supply chains hardly allow for people to take your advice. It's in everything.
    - tracker1 8y ago
      It is... as is soy (allergic to legumes). More people should think about buying groceries and making their own food.
      - anbotero 8y ago
        What do you suggest for drinks? I’ve tried months of water only, but it doesn’t taste good/bad at all. I do make my own food, but juices... argh, I’m just so lazy for that because I drink gallons of liquids a week (usually Coke Zero, I might add); I sometimes drink water as well, as to not make it just Zero, but seriously, it’s so boring to clean juice residue and making it takes time. I sometimes instead of plain water I add some drops of lemon, to make it taste different, but it’s still pretty much the same.
SketchySeaBeast 8y ago
"exercise is medicine" <- the only thing I really agree with Coca Cola about. Fun thing they don't mention about Cola beverages - they can lead to chronic kidney disease, even the sugar free kind. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3433753/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3433753/
- stochastic_monk 8y ago
  I like soft drinks as sources of carbs. I’m active, so I really need them. It’s how you use them that’s an issue, rather than intrinsically being bad. (Outside of the cola issue. Thanks for the pointer.)
  - SketchySeaBeast 8y ago
    The cola issue broke my heart - I used to love coke zero. And you're absolutely right, in moderation literally anything is within the bounds of health. If you need sugar fast, that'll do the trick!
  - soperj 8y ago
    Beer is a way better source of carbs. An O'Douls is probably the best recovery drink around.
- mtgx 8y ago
  You can't outrun drinking soda all day. Soda will also give you a 200+ blood glucose spike within minutes, which isn't really possible with other types of foods. That means it's only a matter of time until you get insulin resistance and then diabetes. Soda is much more harmful than just some extra calories. There's a reason half of America is pre-diabetic or diabetic and it's not because people don't go to the gym enough or don't work in agriculture anymore. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2434682 https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2434682
  - jesssse 8y ago
    Soda is food, food is healthy. Over consumption of food is unhealthy.
newnewpdro 8y ago
Coca-Cola advising China how to fight obesity? Sounds like karma for all the theft of US IP.
harshulpandav 8y ago
Good alternative to any soft drink -- Homemade ginger paste + sparkling water + honey + turmeric (optional) + lemon + a little bit of salt Your taste buds will get a kick in the same way as any other soft drink. And of course it is healthy!
- SketchySeaBeast 8y ago
  > And of course it is healthy! Can you say that? I mean, yeah, it's healthier than refined sugar, but you're still drinking carbonated sugar water, regardless if it's a better sugar.
  - harshulpandav 8y ago
    I meant to say -- healthier than soft drinks.
    - SketchySeaBeast 8y ago
      Which I totally accept, it's just dangerous for us to build a narrative that "this is better, therefore it's good", which I know you're not trying to do, but I see it a lot.
    - pbhjpbhj 8y ago
      That is a soft drink. You mean "commercially available [carbonated] soft drinks". I doubt you can really make that claim without a thorough analysis; there's a pretty big range of soft drinks available.
- maxxxxx 8y ago
  Good idea. I may have to try that.
subcosmos 8y ago
They still have BPA resin lining their cans, which it turns out may be the actual cause of diabetes. https://medium.com/@InfinoMe/diabetes-time-to-resort-to-plastic-measures-500cdf1fe528 https://medium.com/@InfinoMe/diabetes-time-to-resort-to-plas...
- SketchySeaBeast 8y ago
  Isn't that kind of saying that the shot man died of lead poisoning? Like, I get that BPA's can possibly cause diabetes, but so can liquid sugar. Also, this analysis seems to indicate there's no link: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4058392/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4058392/
  - subcosmos 8y ago
    There's a number of papers out there that have been strongly influenced by the chemical industry. They actually hired some of the same lawyers that defended big tabacco, and have been caught editing Wikipedia articles Most of us academics are in quite agreement over it's harm, and with the new genetic data it's even more convincing.
    - SketchySeaBeast 8y ago
      > Most of us academics are in quite agreement over it's harm Could you provide context for your academic credentials? And as I pointed out before, what damage are we talking about when compared to the literal can of sugar water the BPA riddled can is holding?
      - vixen99 8y ago
        its harm.
        SketchySeaBeast 8y ago
        Yeah, but eating meat is harmful to the colon. Booze is harmful to the liver. We need a scale. Also, do we not see these same results in the different consumption methods? Ie, cans vs bottles vs glass bottles vs tap?
kome 8y ago
I was wondering why everyone is obsessed with gym and running those days, and this article provides a good answer.
rangibaby 8y ago
Unsweetened tea is a popular soft drink in Japan, anyway my point is there are a lot of the same brands in China except in China they are very sweet

51 points by sndean 8y ago

> That's bad news for soda giants, who want to grow their market. Hasn't Coca-Cola been extremely pro-active recently in tackling obesity since it became clear that sweet drinks were a major problem? They've almost completely replaced their flagship brand and formula with the zero sugar variant. They're not even promoting it as an alternative any more - the 'Zero' on the cans has been getting smaller and smaller and the black branding has been shrinking as well, and they seem to be getting retailers to suggest it as the default as well. I guess they think they're able to grow their market by being healthier and helping their customers to be healthier.

knan3 8y ago
Are you high my friend on cola? Zero has aspartan and other artificial sweetness that triggers your insulin response, and this is the main issue with obesity, don't know about calories in cola per say but insulin makes you eat more and more... healthy and cola in the same sentence.. damm.
- chrisseaton 8y ago
  > healthy and cola in the same sentence.. damm You're misquoting me - I said 'healthier'. For people who are basically addicted to sweet soft drinks, I think Zero is a healthier alternative and I think it's great that Coca-Cola developed it and is rebranding to it. I think it'll help a lot of people.
  - maxxxxx 8y ago
    "For people who are basically addicted to sweet soft drinks, I think Zero is a healthier alternative." The question is how much healthier it is and how less healthy it is compared to not drinking soda.
  - abrowne 8y ago
    A recent review and meta-analysis in the BMJ found no differences in health outcomes — including weight loss — between people who used artificial sweeteners and those who didn’t. https://www.bmj.com/content/364/bmj.k4718 https://www.bmj.com/content/364/bmj.k4718
    - sosborn 8y ago
      That doesn't mean that the zero calorie soda was a culprit. They biggest determining factor in obesity isn't what food are available to the person, it's what foods the person chooses to eat.
- atomical 8y ago
  That's not proven. Time to take responsibility for your own actions.
- SketchySeaBeast 8y ago
  Aspartame doesn't seem to affect your insulin response. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2923074 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2923074 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1946186 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1946186
tracker1 8y ago
But, they haven't removed the classic variant. They (Coca-Cola) also have hundreds of brands that push for the sugar variant of those other sodas. That doesn't count the use of sucralose which has other issues, as does aspartame to a lesser degree. If Coca-Cola tomorrow said ("our bad, we're sorry"), switched to a low/zero calorie sweetener blend (Stevia, Erythritol, Monk Fruit maybe a little aspartame) with approximate flavor and completely dropped sugar / HFCS then I'd believe they give a crap about tackling obesity. As it stands, refined sugars are the single biggest problem with metabolic syndrome. Fructose is only metabolized by the liver into fats/triglycerides which are linked to damaging insulin receptors and elevating insulin resistance leading to higher insulin levels suppressing other hormones and leading to weight gain, followed by full on diabetes and related metabolic problems. That doesn't mean you can't have some fruit in your diet... juice should never be more than half a cup a day (which was the old recommendation). And high-sugar tree fruits should be minimized in favor of berries. "Fruits and Vegetables" was grouped because a lot of what people consider veggies are botanically fruit. The sweet fruits should be kept to 2 servings a day tops. Refined sugar shouldn't be consumed more than once every few weeks. It's horrible. All the negative effects on the body of alcohol without the negative reinforcement of a bad headache.
- monetus 8y ago
  Supply chains hardly allow for people to take your advice. It's in everything.
  - tracker1 8y ago
    It is... as is soy (allergic to legumes). More people should think about buying groceries and making their own food.
    - anbotero 8y ago
      What do you suggest for drinks? I’ve tried months of water only, but it doesn’t taste good/bad at all. I do make my own food, but juices... argh, I’m just so lazy for that because I drink gallons of liquids a week (usually Coke Zero, I might add); I sometimes drink water as well, as to not make it just Zero, but seriously, it’s so boring to clean juice residue and making it takes time. I sometimes instead of plain water I add some drops of lemon, to make it taste different, but it’s still pretty much the same.

SketchySeaBeast 8y ago

"exercise is medicine" <- the only thing I really agree with Coca Cola about. Fun thing they don't mention about Cola beverages - they can lead to chronic kidney disease, even the sugar free kind. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3433753/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3433753/

stochastic_monk 8y ago
I like soft drinks as sources of carbs. I’m active, so I really need them. It’s how you use them that’s an issue, rather than intrinsically being bad. (Outside of the cola issue. Thanks for the pointer.)
- SketchySeaBeast 8y ago
  The cola issue broke my heart - I used to love coke zero. And you're absolutely right, in moderation literally anything is within the bounds of health. If you need sugar fast, that'll do the trick!
- soperj 8y ago
  Beer is a way better source of carbs. An O'Douls is probably the best recovery drink around.
mtgx 8y ago
You can't outrun drinking soda all day. Soda will also give you a 200+ blood glucose spike within minutes, which isn't really possible with other types of foods. That means it's only a matter of time until you get insulin resistance and then diabetes. Soda is much more harmful than just some extra calories. There's a reason half of America is pre-diabetic or diabetic and it's not because people don't go to the gym enough or don't work in agriculture anymore. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2434682 https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2434682
- jesssse 8y ago
  Soda is food, food is healthy. Over consumption of food is unhealthy.

newnewpdro 8y ago

Coca-Cola advising China how to fight obesity? Sounds like karma for all the theft of US IP.

harshulpandav 8y ago

Good alternative to any soft drink -- Homemade ginger paste + sparkling water + honey + turmeric (optional) + lemon + a little bit of salt Your taste buds will get a kick in the same way as any other soft drink. And of course it is healthy!

SketchySeaBeast 8y ago
> And of course it is healthy! Can you say that? I mean, yeah, it's healthier than refined sugar, but you're still drinking carbonated sugar water, regardless if it's a better sugar.
- harshulpandav 8y ago
  I meant to say -- healthier than soft drinks.
  - SketchySeaBeast 8y ago
    Which I totally accept, it's just dangerous for us to build a narrative that "this is better, therefore it's good", which I know you're not trying to do, but I see it a lot.
  - pbhjpbhj 8y ago
    That is a soft drink. You mean "commercially available [carbonated] soft drinks". I doubt you can really make that claim without a thorough analysis; there's a pretty big range of soft drinks available.
maxxxxx 8y ago
Good idea. I may have to try that.

subcosmos 8y ago

They still have BPA resin lining their cans, which it turns out may be the actual cause of diabetes. https://medium.com/@InfinoMe/diabetes-time-to-resort-to-plastic-measures-500cdf1fe528 https://medium.com/@InfinoMe/diabetes-time-to-resort-to-plas...

SketchySeaBeast 8y ago
Isn't that kind of saying that the shot man died of lead poisoning? Like, I get that BPA's can possibly cause diabetes, but so can liquid sugar. Also, this analysis seems to indicate there's no link: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4058392/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4058392/
- subcosmos 8y ago
  There's a number of papers out there that have been strongly influenced by the chemical industry. They actually hired some of the same lawyers that defended big tabacco, and have been caught editing Wikipedia articles Most of us academics are in quite agreement over it's harm, and with the new genetic data it's even more convincing.
  - SketchySeaBeast 8y ago
    > Most of us academics are in quite agreement over it's harm Could you provide context for your academic credentials? And as I pointed out before, what damage are we talking about when compared to the literal can of sugar water the BPA riddled can is holding?
    - vixen99 8y ago
      its harm.
      - SketchySeaBeast 8y ago
        Yeah, but eating meat is harmful to the colon. Booze is harmful to the liver. We need a scale. Also, do we not see these same results in the different consumption methods? Ie, cans vs bottles vs glass bottles vs tap?

kome 8y ago

I was wondering why everyone is obsessed with gym and running those days, and this article provides a good answer.

rangibaby 8y ago

Unsweetened tea is a popular soft drink in Japan, anyway my point is there are a lot of the same brands in China except in China they are very sweet