Soft drinks : industrial sponsors direct the findings of scientific studies

Studies evaluating the health benefits of soft and funded by the drinks industry have four to eight times more likely to have favorable conclusions compared to non- industry funded studies , suggests a study published in " PLoS Medicine"
Funding for biomedical research by pharmaceutical companies may result in bias in the conclusions of these, recent analyzes have shown . However , few studies have been conducted on this issue in the field of nutrition research , the authors say in the introduction to their article.

Lenard Lesser, the Children's Hospital of Boston ( USA) and his colleagues have decided to conduct a study to identify the sponsors of scientific studies evaluating the health effects of three types of non-alcoholic beverages drinks ( sodas, juices and milk drinks ) and to determine how these sponsors influence their conclusions.

The researchers have analyzed 206 articles on studies that evaluated the health effects of soft drinks, published between January 1999 and December 2003. Of these studies , 111 reported having a financial or industrial sponsor (22 %) or mixed ( 32%) or non-industrial ( 47%).

According to their results , the findings of studies that evaluated the impact of drinking on the health of consumers and sponsored by industry proved 100% positive against 63 % for non- sponsored studies by industry groups .

The chance to make a favorable outcome are revealed in 4 to 8 times higher when the study was 100% financed by an industrial versus non- funded industrial research .

Financial support by food manufacturers therefore orient the findings of scientific studies for the products of the sponsor , with potential consequences for public health , the authors conclude. They suggest that an increase in funding independent research in nutrition would reduce this risk.