  Does anyone remember the "no direct evidence of bodily harm" memo congress used to fry tobacco? urlLink Today's Observer shines the light on the Bush admin's tactics in support of what's coming to be called Big Sugar. Allow me to highlight: "'Obesity rates have risen so that now one in three Americans bears the burden of the very high health risks associated with this condition, with the poorest and most vulnerable worst affected,' he says. 'Obesity rates among American children have risen by 50 per cent. ' Norum is the most senior scientist involved in an attempt to formulate a worldwide policy to fight heart disease and diabetes resulting from a junk food diet. An estimated 60 per cent of disease worldwide is now due to cardiovascular illness, which causes 47 per cent of deaths. The letter from Norum will put Bush under intense pressure at home to show that he is serious about tackling the epidemic. More than half of all Americans are overweight, and in some states, including Bush's Texas, nearly one-third of the population is classified obese. The President insists fighting fat is a matter for the individual, not the state. But today The Observer reveals how he and fellow senators have received hundreds of thousands of dollars in funding from 'Big Sugar'.
One of his main fundraisers is sugar baron Jose 'Pepe' Fanjul, head of Florida Crystals, who has raised at least $100,000 for November's presidential re-election campaign. Norum's letter is an angry response to the Americans' decision to submit a 30-page report, criticising the WHO strategy for its lack of sound scientific evidence.
It will be discussed at a key meeting of its executive board in Geneva on Tuesday. The Bush administration, which receives millions in funding from the sugar industry, argues there is little robust evidence to show that drinking sugary drinks or eating too much sugar is a direct cause of obesity. It particularly opposes a recommendation that just 10 per cent of people's energy intake should come from added sugar. The US has a 25 per cent guideline.
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