Contributing to Negative Health Outcomes

Globally, rates of obesity and diabetes are rising. Sweetened beverages like soda are one of the leading sources of free sugar in diets. Regular consumption of sweetened beverages is associated with increased risks for health problems throughout life, including overweight and obesity, Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Here are some key facts:

• Type 2 diabetes is one of the fastest-growing global health threats, with an estimated 537 million adults living with diabetes today and 246 million more adults projected to be living with diabetes by 2045. Since 1990, obesity has morethan doubled among adults and has quadrupled among children and adolescents.

• For every 250 ml increase in daily sweetened beverage intake, risk ofobesity increases 12%, risk of Type 2 diabetes increases 19%, risk of cardiovascular disease increases 13% and risk of all-cause mortality increases 5%.

• For most children and adolescents, one 355 ml soda will put them overthe daily recommended calories from free sugars. In countries without taxes on sweetened beverages, a typical 500 ml soda contains 53 grams (13 teaspoons) of free sugar. Drinking just one of these beverages puts most adults and children over the daily recommended limit.

• A global study of adults in 75 countries found that a 1% increase insoda consumption was associated with about 5% more adults with overweight, 2%more adults with obesity and 0.3% more adults with diabetes.

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Polluting the environment with plastic

Big Soda uses an enormous amount of plastic to bottle its sweetened beverages. The manufacturing, transportation and disposal of plastic bottles generates a large carbon footprint; billions of bottles that are not recycled end up Incinerators, landfills or polluting our environment and waterways. Here are some key facts:

• According to an analysis of global plastic pollution, Coca-Cola is the leading plastic polluter followed by PepsiCo, Nestlé, Danone and Altria.

• Approximately 21-34 billion plastic bottles from nonalcoholic drinks are polluting the ocean every year. The bottles are primarily from carbonated soft drinks and water.

• Despite commitments to increase the volume of beverages sold in reusable packaging, both Coca-Cola and PepsiCo increased their use of plastic packaging in 2022. Coca-Cola increased its plastic packaging by more than 6% or 206,000 metric tons to 3.43 metric tons of annual plastic packaging and PepsiCo increased its plastic packaging by 4% or 100,000 metric tons to 2.6 million metric tons.

• If Coca-Cola meets its reusable commitment, by 2030 it could eliminate the cumulative equivalent of more than 100 billion 500 ml single-use plastic bottles and prevent up to 14.7 billion plastic bottles from entering our waterways and seas.

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Targeting Children and Teens

Despite Big Soda’s voluntary pledges to not market to children, its actions tell a different story. Big Soda sponsors elite sport that children watch, as well as youth sport teams, leagues and tournaments. Big Soda companies run sport-related campaigns geared toward young people and use fitness and sport development programs to reach youth. These practices serve as a “corporate social responsibility” cover and redirect blame for rising obesity rates toward individual-level lack of physical activity rather than sweetened beverages. Here are some key facts:

• Coca-Cola’s marketing has used equity brand characters like polar bears and other characters that are attractive to children—including in sport-related promotion—as well as athlete sports endorsements, a common tactic used by Big Soda companies.

• PepsiCo’s Mtn Dew brand was the #1 in sweetened beverage ads viewed by U.S. teens in 2018. Black teens saw nearly three times as many brand ads as white teens. Mtn Dew used campaigns linked to sport like skateboarding and snowboarding and featuring professional athletes—especially NBA basketball players—endorsing Mtn Dew.

• During the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, Coca-Cola ran an ad campaign to convince teens and moms that its sweetened beverages were healthy. The company used influencers, including Olympic athletes, to reach teens. The campaign reportedly reached 21 million teenagers and accurately targeted 88% of them.

• In 2015, children in the U.S. watched telecasts associated with 10 sport organizations more than 412 million times. Four in 10 nonalcoholic beverages shown via sponsorship messages were full-calorie, regular sodas, while two in 10 were diet sodas.

• In Australia it was found that nine in 10 companies sponsoring junior sports development promoted unhealthy food, including Keurig Dr Pepper, Inc.’s soda brand Schweppes. In India, Coca-Cola runs an under-16 cricket program for cricket players ages 12-16 and sponsors a tournament called the Coca-Cola U-16 Cricket Cup.

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Join the Movement to Kick Big Soda Out of Sport:
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Urge the International Olympics Committee (IOC) to end Coca-Cola's sponsorship deal and to only commit to partnerships that align with Olympic values. Read the full petition below.

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Petition

To: International Olympic Committee, National Olympic Committees and, National Ministries of Health and Sport

Dear International Olympic Committee: 

Sugary drinks harm people and our planet. By accepting billions from Coca-Cola to sponsor the Olympic Games, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) implicitly endorses a world where health and environmental harms are “sports-washed” away, undermining commitments to use sport to create a better world. This includes the following:

• Harming health. Sugary drinks are a major contributor to rising rates of obesity, Type 2 diabetes and heart disease. With continued Coca-Cola sponsorship, how does the IOC intend to meet its commitment to WHO to promote a healthy society through sport, to advance Sustainable Development Goal 3 (“Good health and well-being”) and prevent non communicable diseases?

• Damaging the environment. Plastic pollution, carbon emissions and water depletion are serious global concerns and are significant drivers of the climate crisis. With continued Coca-Cola sponsorship, how does the IOC intend to honor its commitment to the Paris Agreement on Climate Change?

• Targeting our next generation. Children’s exposure to pervasive, unhealthy food marketing is a major risk factor for childhood obesity. With continued Coca-Cola sponsorship, how does the IOC intend to protect childrenfrom the influence of unhealthy product marketing while also honoring its commitment to youth fitness and health?  

As the leader of the Olympic Movement and guardian of its values, the IOC has a responsibility to prioritize the health and well-being of people and our planet over Big Soda’s corporate interests.  

We urge the IOC to:

1. Terminate Coca-Cola’s Olympic sponsorship.
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2. Commit to not accepting future sponsorship from corporations that harm public health and the environment.

3. Accept sponsorships from corporations genuinely aligned with Olympic values, such as those that promote health and sustainability. 

By kicking Big Soda out of the Olympics, the IOC will show the world that it is not just committed to talking about these values, but that it is truly committed to make the world a better place through sport. 

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Big Soda sponsors our top sports tournaments, teams and athletes so we associate its sugary drinks with exhilarating sporting moments and beloved athletes. In reality, its sugary drinks are harming the health of people and our planet by:

1. Contributing to rising obesity and Type 2 diabetes rates

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2. Requiring an enormous amount of plastic to bottle products

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3. Targeting marketing to children and teens

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Coca-Cola, one of the largest soda companies in the world, is the longest-running partner of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), sponsoring every Olympic tournament since 1928.  The IOC’s association with Coca-Cola is undermining its noble vision to use sports to build a better world.

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By kicking Big Soda out of the Olympics, the International Olympic Committee will demonstrate its genuine commitment to
improving the world through sport.

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