terests in sugar production, is challenging these proposals, arguing that, rather than trying to limit sugar intake, public health interventions to prevent tooth decay should focus on reducing the harms of sugar consumption. Here, the researchers explore how the sugar industry has historically sought to undermine or subvert policies to restrict sugar consumption, by examining internal industry documents related to the launch of a targeted research program to identify interventions to eradicate tooth decay—the National Caries Program (NCP)—by the US National Institute of Dental Research (NIDR) in 1971.
What Did the Researchers Do and Find?
The researchers analyzed an archive of 319 internal sugar industry documents from 1959 to 1971 (the “Roger Adams papers”) and NIDR documents to explore how the sugar industry sought to influence the setting of research priorities for the NCP. Their analysis indicates that, as early as 1950, sugar industry trade organizations had accepted that sugar damaged teeth and had recognized that the dental community favored restricting sugar intake as a key way to control caries. The sugar industry therefore adopted a strategy to deflect attention towards public health interventions that would reduce the harms of sugar consumption. This strategy included tactics such as funding research into enzymes that break up dental plaque and into a vaccine against tooth decay, and cultivating relationships with the NIDR leadership. Notably, 78% of a report submitted to the NIDR by the sugar industry was directly incorporated into the NIDR’s first request for research proposals for the NCP, and research that could have been harmful to sugar industry interests (specifically, research into methods to measure the propensity of specific foods to cause caries) was omitted from the research priorities identified at the launch of the NCP.
What Do These Findings Mean?
These findings, although limited by the researchers’ reliance on a single source of industry documents and by the absence of interviews with key actors in the launch of the NCP, reveal an alignment of research agendas between the NIDR and the sugar industry in the early 1970s. The findings also suggest that the NCP was a missed opportunity to develop a scientific understanding of how to restrict sugar consumption to prevent tooth decay. Indeed, although tooth decay declined by 20% between 1971/1973 and 1980, 64% of children still developed caries a decade after the NCP was launched. Most importantly, these findings illustrate how the sugar industry has protected itself from potentially damaging research in the past; a similar approach has also been taken by the tobacco industry. These findings highlight the need to carefully scrutinize industry opposition to the proposed WHO and FDA guidelines on sugar intake and labeling, respectively, to ensure that industry interests do not interfere with current efforts to improve dental public health.
Please access these websites via the online version of this summary at http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001798.
- The US National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (the successor to the NIDR) provides detailed information on tooth decay (in English and Spanish)
- The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also provides information on dental caries
- The UK National Health Service Choices website provides detailed information about all aspects of tooth decay; it also provides an analysis of a recent news report concerning research supporting the proposed WHO guideline for limiting sugar intake
- MedlinePlus provides links to additional information about tooth decay (in English and Spanish)
- Information about the 2014 WHO draft guideline on sugar intake and about the changes proposed to the nutrition facts label by the FDA are available (in English and Spanish)
Citation: Kearns CE, Glantz SA, Schmidt LA (2015) Sugar Industry Influence on the Scientific Agenda of the National Institute of Dental Research’s 1971 National Caries Program: A Historical Analysis of Internal Documents. PLoS Med 12(3