Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

posted by Fnord666 on Friday November 17 2017, @02:12PM   Printer-friendly
from the a-different-kind-of-coca dept.

She Took On Colombia's Soda Industry. Then She Was Silenced.

It began with menacing phone calls, strange malfunctions of the office computers, and men in parked cars photographing the entrance to the small consumer advocacy group's offices. Then at dusk one day last December, Dr. Esperanza Cerón, the head of the organization, said she noticed two strange men on motorcycles trailing her Chevy sedan as she headed home from work. She tried to lose them in Bogotá's rush-hour traffic, but they edged up to her car and pounded on the windows. "If you don't keep your mouth shut," one man shouted, she recalled in a recent interview, "you know what the consequences will be."

The episode, which Dr. Cerón reported to federal investigators, was reminiscent of the intimidation often used against those who challenged the drug cartels that once dominated Colombia. But the narcotics trade was not the target of Dr. Cerón and her colleagues. Their work had upset a different multibillion-dollar industry: the makers of soda and other sugar-sweetened beverages.

Their organization, Educar Consumidores, was the most visible proponent of a proposed 20 percent tax on sugary drinks that was heading for a vote that month in Colombia's Legislature. The group had raised money, rallied allies to the cause and produced a provocative television ad that warned consumers how sugar-laden beverages can lead to obesity and diet-related illnesses like diabetes. The backlash was fierce. A Colombian government agency, responding to a complaint by the nation's leading soda company that called the ad misleading, ordered it off the air. Then the agency went further: It prohibited Dr. Cerón and her colleagues from publicly discussing the health risks of sugar, under penalty of a $250,000 fine.

Related: Scientists Find Shorter Telomeres in Immune Cells of Soda Drinkers
US Army says Only 30% of Americans Qualified to Join
Obesity Surges to 13.6% in Ghana
America Gets Even Fatter From 2015-2016


Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: 2) by HiThere on Saturday November 18 2017, @06:15AM (4 children)

    by HiThere (866) Subscriber Badge on Saturday November 18 2017, @06:15AM (#598585) Journal

    I agree, that's a common experience. But weight isn't a thing of one day at a time, and I believe that most studies show that the weight gain averages out over time, so that other times you eat more...perhaps the next morning or something.

    That said, exercise certainly contributes to health, stamina, alertness, etc. I wish I didn't dislike it so much.

    --
    Javascript is what you use to allow unknown third parties to run software you have no idea about on your computer.
    Starting Score:    1  point
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  

    Total Score:   2  
  • (Score: 2) by t-3 on Saturday November 18 2017, @02:08PM (3 children)

    by t-3 (4907) on Saturday November 18 2017, @02:08PM (#598655)

    I've always found exercise to be an acquired taste. It seems to take a week or two of regular exercise to condition the body to start giving you that serotonin boost when you work out.

    • (Score: 2) by HiThere on Saturday November 18 2017, @06:37PM (2 children)

      by HiThere (866) Subscriber Badge on Saturday November 18 2017, @06:37PM (#598712) Journal

      Well, for me I know that it would have taken more than 9 months (1 school year I was on track team). These days (decades later) though it's actively painful.

      --
      Javascript is what you use to allow unknown third parties to run software you have no idea about on your computer.
      • (Score: 2) by t-3 on Saturday November 18 2017, @09:39PM (1 child)

        by t-3 (4907) on Saturday November 18 2017, @09:39PM (#598758)

        I don't do any intentional cardio, I walk when it's necessary and don't bother otherwise. I keep my exercise to low impact calisthenics, pushups and squats etc, and 2x daily stretching, which is more than enough to have me in reasonable shape and feeling healthy and without pain when I do have to move around. Cardio is the reason people hate exercise, it always sucks. Bodyweight exercises can be done anywhere, anytime, require no financial or time investment, and aren't painful or difficult once you attain the base level of strength required to do a couple pushups.

        • (Score: 2) by HiThere on Sunday November 19 2017, @12:21AM

          by HiThere (866) Subscriber Badge on Sunday November 19 2017, @12:21AM (#598793) Journal

          If you can do even one squat, your knees are in better shape than mine...and I'd recommend you check with a doctor or physical therapist to make sure you aren't injuring yourself. Squats are dangerous.

          --
          Javascript is what you use to allow unknown third parties to run software you have no idea about on your computer.