USC not returning Coca-Cola grant for obesity network

The University of South Carolina won’t return a $500,000 grant from Coca-Cola to start an obesity-prevention group though another college sent back $1 million from the soft-drink giant last week.

The University of Colorado returned Coca-Cola’s grant for the Global Energy Balance Network, which has been criticized for downplaying the role of soft drinks in contributing to health problems and favoring theories that a lack of physical activity is a chief cause of weight gain. The network’s leader and co-founder is a professor at Colorado.

Another network founder is USC exercise science professor Steven Blair. The group uses an USC email address for the public to submit questions.

USC said it received $500,000 from the Coca-Cola to help establish the network and support its research. The company has no control on how the money is spent, university spokesman Wes Hickman said.

“The research was not planned or conducted to promote a biased agenda.” Hickman said. “Any suggestion that the university’s group of researchers, led by Blair, ignored diet implications and/or claimed that all health problems are due to physical inactivity is simply false.”

The research tied to Coca-Cola’s grant has been “conducted ethically and within all applicable guidelines,” Hickman said. “Therefore, there is no compelling reason to return the funds, nor have we been asked to do so.”

The New York Times reported that Blair has received $3.5 million in grants from Coca-Cola since 2008.

This story was originally published November 10, 2015 at 7:55 AM with the headline "USC not returning Coca-Cola grant for obesity network."