Our Review Summary

Got facts?

They are almost absent from this boastful release touting vague neurological benefits of a specific chocolate milk. The release says high school football players, including some who suffered concussions, who drank the milk improved their scores on a computer-based concussion evaluation, but the release not only doesn’t say how much improvement was seen, it doesn’t even say which of the 36 measurements in the test improved. The release highlights the protein, calcium and electrolyte content of the milk, without ever mentioning each serving also contains the equivalent of eight teaspoons of sugar. Perhaps the most worrisome aspect of this case is the status of the “study” it is based on. The study does not appear to have been independently reviewed or published.

This review and a related blog post calling attention to the issues raised within have sparked much news coverage and led to a University of Maryland investigation into policies surrounding research quality, conflict of interest, and public relations. More links to our coverage can be found here.

Why This Matters

This quote from the release eloquently demonstrates why it matters:

“There is nothing more important than protecting our student-athletes,” said Clayton Wilcox, superintendent of Washington County Public Schools. “Now that we understand the findings of this study, we are determined to provide Fifth Quarter Fresh to all of our athletes.”

There are real consequences to PR spin of health research.

If this story were to gain traction, it may further the health haloing of a beverage that drop per drop has more calories and nearly as much sugar as Coca-Cola.

[Editor’s note: This review initially stated, incorrectly, that 5th Quarter Fresh has more sugar, drop per drop, than Coca-Cola. This milk in fact has 3 g of sugar per ounce, compared with 3.25 g per ounce for Coca Cola. However, children would ingest more total sugar from a bottle of the chocolate milk compared with a can of Coke because of the larger serving size (14 oz vs. 12 oz).]