While the costs for this study are considerable and the outcome could have significant impacts on how we view the relationship between health, exercise and eating habits, it is entirely unacceptable for Dr. Powell and the Center to accept sponsorship money from Kiddie Kola and Burger Shack. This sponsorship money will undermine the objectivity of the research and the legitimacy of the results. It should go without saying that the only reason Kiddie Kola and Burger Shack are willing to cover the research costs is because they want to dictate the results in advance -- namely, that it is perfectly okay for kids to eat fast food burgers and sugary sodas as long as they get enough exercise. According to the 2013 Global Burden of Disease Study in 2013, an estimated 2.1 billion people — nearly 30% of the global population—were considered as being overweight or obese (Nielsen, 2015). While obesity rates are still lower than those in fully developed markets, a whopping 62% of the world’s 671 million obese individuals live in currently developing markets — and these rates are accelerating at a rapid pace – so much so, that obesity is now a worldwide epidemic (Nielsen, 2015). This obesity epidemic has attracted an immense amount of media coverage, causing food producers to operate under increased stakeholder and regulatory pressures. While it’s a proven fact that obesity is the result of combination of factors (genetics, unbalanced diet, lack of physical activity, etc.) food
