{"id":1333,"date":"2014-02-09T14:47:03","date_gmt":"2014-02-09T03:47:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.panicola.com\/?p=1333"},"modified":"2014-02-09T14:50:33","modified_gmt":"2014-02-09T03:50:33","slug":"jenny-brand-miller-commences-her-overdue-capitulation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.panicola.com\/?p=1333","title":{"rendered":"A clear head shot on big sugar, soda etc&#8230;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Jenny Brand Miller commences her long-overdue capitulation&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>http:\/\/www.smh.com.au\/national\/health\/australian-paradox-author-admits-sugar-data-might-be-flawed-20140209-329h1.html<\/p>\n<p>http:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/radionational\/programs\/backgroundbriefing\/2014-02-09\/5239418#transcript<\/p>\n<h1>Is sugar innocent?<\/h1>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/radio\/player\/rnmodplayer.html?pgm=Background%20Briefing&amp;pgmurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.abc.net.au%2Fradionational%2Fprograms%2Fbackgroundbriefing%2F&amp;w=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.abc.net.au%2Fradionational%2Fmedia%2F5239418.asx&amp;r=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.abc.net.au%2Fradionational%2Fmedia%2F5239418.ram&amp;t=Is%20sugar%20innocent%3F&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.abc.net.au%2Fradionational%2Fprograms%2Fbackgroundbriefing%2F2014-02-09%2F5239418&amp;p=1\">Listen now<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a title=\"Download this item as MP3 (17.86MB)\" href=\"http:\/\/mpegmedia.abc.net.au\/rn\/podcast\/2014\/02\/bbg_20140209_0805.mp3\">Download audio<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/radionational\/programs\/backgroundbriefing\/2014-02-09\/5239418#transcript\">show transcript<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<dl>\n<dd>Sunday 9 February 2014 8:05AM<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div><a href=\"http:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/radionational\/programs\/backgroundbriefing\/boy-drinking-3-soft-drinks\/5239442\"><img decoding=\"async\" title=\"Is there a link between sugar and obesity?\" alt=\"Is there a link between sugar and obesity?\" src=\"http:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/radionational\/image\/5239442-4x3-700x525.jpg\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/radionational\/programs\/backgroundbriefing\/boy-drinking-3-soft-drinks\/5239442\"><strong>IMAGE:<\/strong>\u00a0AUSTRALIANS ARE NOW CONSUMING HUGE AMOUNTS OF SUGAR IN LIQUID FORM.\u00a0(GETTY\/CRISMA)<\/a><\/div>\n<p><em>Controversial research by two leading nutritionists which claims sugar has had no role to play in Australia\u2019s obesity crisis is now under investigation by Sydney University.\u00a0\u00a0 The paper claims that sales of soft drinks have declined by 10 per cent, but now it looks like the nutritionists themselves are walking away from that statistic, as\u00a0<strong>Wendy Carlisle<\/strong>\u00a0writes.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/w.soundcloud.com\/player\/?url=https%3A\/\/api.soundcloud.com\/tracks\/133500643&amp;color=258019&amp;auto_play=false&amp;hide_related=false&amp;show_artwork=true\" height=\"166\" width=\"100%\" frameborder=\"no\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>What role does sugar play in Australia\u2019s obesity crisis?<\/p>\n<p>According to research from two leading nutritionists, the answer is not much at all.<\/p>\n<p>If that\u2019s the case, it means Australia is unique and sugar is not implicated in our ever expanding girths.\u00a0 If the research is true, then sugar and in particular soft drinks are off the hook.<\/p>\n<p>The research comes from one of Australia\u2019s best known nutritionists, Professor Jennie Brand Miller, and her colleague Dr Alan Barclay.<\/p>\n<p>Professor Brand Miller devised the Low GI diet and has sold millions of Low GI cookbooks. \u2018GI Jennie\u2019, as she is also known, is associated with Sydney University\u2019s\u00a0 $500 million Charles Perkins Centre for Obesity Research.<\/p>\n<p>Australia\u2019s obesity problem is unique, says Professor Brand Miller: \u2018Australia is actually bucking the trend with respect to added sugars; there is good evidence that we are not increasing our intake, with various lines of evidence suggesting our consumption has been in the process of a long decline for quite a long period of time.\u2019<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>This article represents part of a larger\u00a0<em>Background Briefing<\/em>\u00a0investigation. Listen to\u00a0Wendy Carlisle&#8217;s full report on Sunday at 8.05 am or use the podcast links above after broadcast<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>The pair examined\u00a0 FAO datasets on\u00a0 Australian sugar and\u00a0 concluded there has been a \u2018substantial and consistent decline\u2019 in the consumption of sugar by Australians since 1980.<\/p>\n<p>After examining industry data on soft drink sales, they found Australians have cut their consumption of soft drinks by 10 per cent since 1994.<\/p>\n<p>Not surprisingly, the soft drink industry is thrilled and the findings have been cited widely by the industry in their case against government regulation. We might be getting heavier as a nation, but we can\u2019t blame sugar, says the industry.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Soft drinks in particular seem to be in the firing line as some sort of unique contributor to obesity,\u2019 says Geoff Parker CEO of the Australian Beverage Council.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018The findings do confirm\u00a0 the Australian Paradox in that there has been a substantial decline in refined sugars over the timeframe that obesity has increased, so the implication is that efforts to reduce sugar intake\u00a0 may not reduce the prevalence of obesity.\u2019<\/p>\n<p><strong>Are we drinking more or less?<\/strong><\/p>\n<div><a href=\"http:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/radionational\/programs\/backgroundbriefing\/bbg2\/5246308\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" title=\"\" alt=\"\" src=\"http:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/radionational\/linkableblob\/5246308\/data\/bbg2-data.jpg\" width=\"700\" height=\"302\" \/><\/a><strong>Image:<\/strong>\u00a0<em>Source: Australian Beverages Council<\/em><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The Australian paradox would seem to let the soft drink industry and sugar off the hook, except that research is now under intense scrutiny from both Sydney University and the dogged form of former Reserve Bank economist Rory Robertson, who calls the research a \u2018menace to public health\u2019.<\/p>\n<p>Mr Robertson has been complaining long and loud to the journal Nutrition and to Sydney University and for two years he says they told him to \u2018get lost\u2019.<\/p>\n<p>Late last year the university announced a initial inquiry into the research under its research code of conduct.\u00a0 An external investigator has been appointed.\u00a0 If the investigator finds there is case to answer, the inquiry will proceed.<\/p>\n<p>Until then, the university will not comment.<\/p>\n<p>One of the most glaring errors in the paper, Mr Robertson says, is the claim that we are drinking 10 per cent less soft drink since 1994.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018They show a chart of sugary soft drinks sales in Australia between 1994 and 2006, and that chart shows a rise in sugary soft drink sales from 35 L per person per year in 1994 to 45 L per person per year in 2006,&#8217; he says.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018And in the paper they describe\u00a0 as a 10 per cent decline, which is nonsense\u2014obviously it\u2019s a 30 per cent increase.&#8217;<\/p>\n<div><a href=\"http:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/radionational\/programs\/backgroundbriefing\/bbg1\/5246322\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" title=\"Are we drinking more or less? \" alt=\"Are we drinking more or less? \" src=\"http:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/radionational\/linkableblob\/5246322\/data\/bbg1-data.jpg\" width=\"700\" height=\"302\" \/><\/a><strong>Image:<\/strong>\u00a0<strong><em>The Australian Paradox<\/em><\/strong><em>: &#8216;Food industry data indicate per capita sales of low calorie (non-nutritively sweetened) beverages doubled from 1994 to 2006 while nutritively sweetened beverages decreased by 10 per cent.&#8217;<\/em>\u00a0(<em>Source: Australian Beverages Council<\/em>)<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>It seemed to be an easy point to fact check.\u00a0 Graph 5A in the Australian Paradox does indeed trend up by around 30 per cent between 1994 and 2006.<\/p>\n<p>How could the Australian Paradox maintain this was an decrease when the graph clearly showed sales had gone up?<\/p>\n<p>The responses from Professor Jennie Brand Miller and Dr Alan Barclay to Background Briefings inquiries have been equivocal.<\/p>\n<p>Last Wednesday Dr Alan Barclay emailed to say: \u2018Your claim is most certainly wrong\u2019.\u00a0 After another series of email exchanges another answer came through on Thursday.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018The 10 per cent decline could not possibly refer to per capita sales of nutritively sweetened soft drinks,\u2019 wrote Dr Barclay.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018I&#8217;m sorry I cannot make it more clear than this.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>The paper remains on the Sydney University website of the Glycemic Index Foundation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div>\n<div data-send=\"false\" data-layout=\"box_count\" data-width=\"450\" data-show-faces=\"false\"><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/share\" data-lang=\"en\" data-count=\"vertical\">Tweet<\/a><\/p>\n<div data-action=\"share\" data-annotation=\"vertical-bubble\" data-height=\"60\"><\/div>\n<div><a title=\"Email to a friend\" href=\"http:\/\/www2b.abc.net.au\/EAF\/View\/MailToQuery.aspx?http:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/radionational\/programs\/backgroundbriefing\/2014-02-09\/5239418\">Email<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"transcript\">\n<h2>Transcript<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/radionational\/programs\/backgroundbriefing\/2014-02-09\/5239418#\">Hide<\/a><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>A transcript of this program will be made available by the Tuesday following the broadcast.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<h2>Credits<\/h2>\n<dl>\n<dt>Reporter<\/dt>\n<dd>Wendy Carlisle<\/dd>\n<dt>Researcher<\/dt>\n<dd>Anna Whitfeld<\/dd>\n<dt>Supervising Producer<\/dt>\n<dd>Linda McGinness<\/dd>\n<dt>Sound Engineer<\/dt>\n<dd><\/dd>\n<dt>Executive Producer<\/dt>\n<dd>Chris Bullock<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Jenny Brand Miller commences her long-overdue capitulation&#8230; http:\/\/www.smh.com.au\/national\/health\/australian-paradox-author-admits-sugar-data-might-be-flawed-20140209-329h1.html http:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/radionational\/programs\/backgroundbriefing\/2014-02-09\/5239418#transcript Is sugar innocent? Listen now Download audio show transcript Sunday 9 February 2014 8:05AM IMAGE:\u00a0AUSTRALIANS ARE NOW CONSUMING HUGE AMOUNTS OF SUGAR IN LIQUID FORM.\u00a0(GETTY\/CRISMA) Controversial research by two leading nutritionists which claims sugar has had no role to play in Australia\u2019s obesity crisis is now &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.panicola.com\/?p=1333\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">A clear head shot on big sugar, soda etc&#8230;<\/span> <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,13,22,6,20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1333","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-healthy-habits","category-nutrition","category-policy","category-politics","category-research-methodology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.panicola.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1333","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.panicola.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.panicola.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.panicola.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.panicola.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1333"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blog.panicola.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1333\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1336,"href":"https:\/\/blog.panicola.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1333\/revisions\/1336"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.panicola.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1333"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.panicola.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1333"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.panicola.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1333"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}