"There's no question that the Children's Hospital will do good with the money," said Kelly Brownell, director of the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale University. "The question is, at what cost?"
The three-year grant is the inaugural gift from the Foundation for a Healthy America, a nonprofit created by the American Beverage Association.
The industry first made the offer last spring, when City Council members were debating Mayor Nutter's proposed 2-cent tax on every ounce of sugar-sweetened beverages sold in the city. The tax was projected to bring in $20 million for obesity-prevention measures and more money for the general fund. The idea fizzled in May without going to a vote.
Children's CEO Steven Altschuler said the agreement was fully vetted and does not impose restrictions on research.
"We can study soda," he said. "We can study whatever we want."
The Healthy Weight program, which had an annual budget of $440,000, will double its staff of 10 and may move to a bigger space, Children's spokesman George Bochanski said.
The number of children it treats each year, about 225, could triple. Outreach and education through Children's Hospital's large network of pediatricians could grow 10 times over, Bochanski said.
Altschuler said he had begun meeting with health insurers in the region. They often don't cover obesity treatment unless it's part of care for diabetes or some other illness. He hopes that the program's research will help change that. "To tackle some of these very large public-health issues, you can't do it alone," Altschuler said. "You need the help of industry."
Altschuler pointed to Children's 13-year partnership with State Farm Insurance to study teen driving and improve safety. Critics say there's more at stake in this deal.
