Soft drink company Coca-Cola Amatil has told the ABC it would prefer to see more Australians drinking less of its products instead of a few people drinking a lot.

Key points: Coca-Cola Amatil says it would prefer more Australians drink less of their beverages

Coca-Cola Amatil says it would prefer more Australians drink less of their beverages Professor Nestle criticised soft drink companies for distorting truth for profit

Professor Nestle criticised soft drink companies for distorting truth for profit Coca-Cola responded by saying one can a week not unhealthy

The company made the comment after a leading US academic urged Australians to take on the soft drink industry as a way to tackle obesity.

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Coca-Cola products are sold in Australia by Coca-Cola Amatil, which is 29 per cent owned by the Coca-Cola Company.

Coca-Cola Amatil maintains its high-sugar products, like a 375ml can of Coke, are not harmful.

"If you consume one can like that a week, no, I don't think that's unhealthy," said Alison Watkins, the managing director of Coca-Cola Amatil.

When asked if Coke could make money if everyone just drunk one can a week, Ms Watkins replied: "We would much rather have lots of people drinking small amounts of our product than to have a small number of people drinking a lot of our product."

But the Dietitians Association of Australia (DAA) hit back at Ms Watkins example, saying it was less than ideal to have one can of coke a week.

"It is unhealthy, [Coca-Cola] has no basis in saying that. It's out of context of a healthy diet," DAA accredited practising dietitian Arlene Normand said.

"They're basically just trying to promote Coke. I can understand that reasoning, that it's better to have one coke [a week] than a coke every day.

"But the more you have, the more you crave. Ideally, people should be drinking water."

Coca-Cola Amatil was responding to criticisms by leading researcher Professor Marion Nestle from New York University.

Professor Nestle is on sabbatical with the University of Sydney's Charles Perkins Centre and delivered a lecture on Tuesday night to a packed theatre.

She claimed soft drink companies around the world were distorting the truth about their products to keep profits growing.

"There is so much evidence now that drinking sugars in form of liquids is not good for health," she said.

Official figures show that more than half of Australians are overweight or obese. More than a quarter fall into the obese category.

Professor Nestle said the soft drink industry did everything it possibly could to discourage any warnings about consuming its products.

Her work shows soft drink companies fund scientific research to push back against claims their sugary soft drinks contribute to excessive weight gain.

But Ms Watkins from Coca-Cola Amatil said that kind of lobbying did not happen in Australia.

"We don't sponsor any research ourselves," she said.

Ms Watkins said Coca-Cola Amatil was simply trying to support people who wanted its product, as well as those who wanted it too much.

"In one sense we are responding to what the consumer wants," she said.

"In another sense we are really wanting to make sure that we are part of solving what is undoubtedly a big problem for society — and that is obesity."

Coca-Cola Amatil told the ABC the Australian arm of the Coca-Cola company will be disclosing details of its funding to research organisations in a couple of months.