Sugar industry exploited dietitians to influence dentists, study shows

SAN FRANCISCO, U.S./VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Canada: In 1975, the U.S. Sugar Association (SA) created the Regional Nutritional Information Program (RNIP) in an effort to enlist dietitians to spread positive messages about sugar and health. A recent study has inquired into the RNIP and evaluated its impact on dental professionals. The findings suggest that the sugar industry used dietitians strategically in order to influence the dental community’s views on sugar.

Researchers from the University of California, San Francisco School of Dentistry reviewed 304 internal SA documents dating from 1974 to 1978 related to the RNIP’s operations, regulatory activities and scientific research. To further explore the SA’s influence on the dental community, they selected 59 documents for an in-depth analysis and identified the emerging themes. They used secondary sources to contextualize their findings.

The data revealed that the RNIP was an integral part of the SA’s public relations campaign and was designed to portray the safety and benefits of sugar in a balanced diet. The target audiences included universities, public schools, professional associations and the media. According to the study, dietitians working for the SA hosted educational workshops, incorporated the association’s literature into libraries and curricula, monitored professional and consumer attitudes toward sugar and made media appearances. They also interacted with dental professionals by documenting their attitudes toward sugar, influencing a professional conference to include pro-sugar speakers, developing a media program that minimized sugar’s role in causing dental caries, and by monitoring and criticizing dental researchers who sought to examine the high-sugar content of breakfast cereals.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), dental caries is a major public health problem and is the most widespread noncommunicable disease. WHO states that it can be prevented by avoiding dietary free sugars.

The researchers caution the public health community to consider corporate relationships in the dietetic profession as potentially detrimental to oral health.

The findings were presented at the 97th General Session and Exhibition of the International Association for Dental Research, held in conjunction with the 48th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Dental Research and the 43rd Annual Meeting of the Canadian Association for Dental Research. The event took place on June 19–22 in the West Building of the Vancouver Convention Centre.

An oral presentation of the findings of the study, titled “Sugar industry’s use of dietitians to influence dental professionals, 1974-1978,” was held on June 19, 2019.