The long history behind overlooking sugar, villainizing fat, and the controversial legacy of one of America’s most prominent nutritionists
Let’s get an important disclaimer out of the way – clearly, highly processed foods filled with low-quality saturated fats can harm your overall health as well as your weight loss journey. But when controlling for calorie intake, saturated fats are not the primary barrier to your weight loss – although the sugar industry has paid to make you believe otherwise.
Following President Eisenhower’s heart attack in 1955, there was growing concern about the rising rates of heart disease and obesity in the United States. Researchers were investigating the potential causes of these health issues, settling on the idea that a high-fat diet was linked to heart disease, leading to a push for low-fat diets. However, as the consumption of low-fat foods increased, so did the incidence of obesity and related health problems. In the 1970s, some researchers began to investigate the role of sugar in obesity and related health problems.
The Sugar Research Foundation
Nutritionist John Yudkinn published a book in 1972 called “Pure, White, and Deadly,” arguing that sugar, not fat, was the primary cause of obesity and related health problems. Yudkin’s research received significant pushback from the food industry, particularly sugar industry lobbyists, who sought to discredit his work and shift the blame for obesity and related health problems onto fat instead of sugar.
The pressure was building on the sugar industry. In an effort to protect their interests, these industry groups reportedly influenced public opinion and research through various means, including financial support to scientists, lobbying efforts, and the promotion of favorable research.
A key part of their campaign was the creation of the Sugar Research Foundation, now known as the International Sugar Research Foundation (ISRF), a trade association representing the sugar industry. The ISRF funded research that downplayed the link between sugar and health problems, including obesity, and instead emphasized the role of fat.
How they influenced research
One of their most successful efforts involved a secret payment of about $60,000 in today’s dollars to two prominent Harvard nutritionists and professors at the Harvard School of Public Health, Mark Hegsted and Frederick Stare.
Each professor published a literature review discrediting studies linking sugar to heart disease and stating that the only modifiable risk factors were fat and cholesterol intake.
Additionally, various reports and investigations have shed light on the close ties between sugar industry representatives, lobbyists, and government agencies responsible for dietary guidelines and public health recommendations. These relationships have been criticized for potentially influencing policy decisions and scientific discourse around the role of sugar in health.
The background of Frederick Stare
Frederick Stare, a former adviser to the U.S. government and ardent defender of the American diet, is credited as one of America’s most influential teachers of nutrition despite dubious claims including describing Coca-Cola as a “healthy between-meals snack”. While no official relationship with Coca-Cola has been cited, it’s worth noting that Coca-Cola only ended their paid sponsorship to a group of dietitians for positive coverage in 2015.
Stare stated in his own book that he received a grant of $1,026,000 from General Foods in 1960 to expand the School’s Nutrition Research Laboratories. Over his 44-year career as a nutritionist, he managed to raise a total of $29,630,347 including $2 million from Kellogg’s to establish the Nutrition Foundation at Harvard, which operated independently from the university. Stare served as the editor of the foundation’s journal, Nutrition Reviews, for 25 years.
In addition to his involvement with the Nutrition Foundation, Stare co-founded the American Council on Science and Health (ACSH) and held the position of Chairman on its Board of Directors. During his tenure in 1980, he sought funding from Philip Morris USA, a prominent US tobacco company, for ACSH’s activities.
Sources:
https://apnews.com/article/d6fc7dd2924e4c8b8a315cdd7912fe1d
https://www.economist.com/obituary/2002/04/18/frederick-stare