Citizens for Health

Last updated
Citizens for Health
Formation1992
TypeNon-profit [1]
Purpose Health policy
Headquarters Washington, D.C., U.S.
Region served
United States
Chairman
Betsy Lehrfeld
Main organ
Board of Directors
Website www.citizens.org

Citizens for Health is a U.S. non-profit organization which advocates on issues affecting nutrition, obesity, dietary supplements, food labeling and other health matters. [2]

Contents

Organization

Citizens for Health (CFH) was founded in 1992. [3] As part of its advocacy, the group testifies to the U.S. Congress and the Food and Drug Administration about health and nutrition issues. [4] [5] [6] The president and senior policy advisor of the group is James Gormley, an award-winning health-and-nutrition author and natural products industry advocate since 1995. [7]

CFH has formulated a "food identity theft" website, which "alerts consumers about misleading food and beverage packaging and deceptive advertising." [8]

Chairman Jim Turner passed away on January 25, 2022, after which Betsy Lehrfeld assumed the chairmanship of the organization.

Issue advocacy

In 1993, the group deluged lawmakers in Congress with letters objecting to efforts by the FDA to regulate labeling for nutritional supplements. "For decades, the FDA has attempted to limit free speech and access to supplements by seizing products, raiding health clinics and insisting that the dissemination of information is tantamount to practicing medicine without a license," said the group's spokeswoman. [9]

Between 1992 and 1994, Citizens for Health generated approximately 1 million signatures in support of the Dietary Supplement and Health Education Act of 1994.

In 2006, the group filed a petition with the FDA asking that agency to withdraw its approval of Splenda, a sugar substitute. The group cited concerns over possible side effects, including stomach pains and other digestion problems. [10]

The group has also weighed in on the potential health effects from electromagnetic fields. [11]

In 2011, Citizens for Health successfully opposed the original anti-supplement version of the FDA's New Dietary Ingredient (NDI) Draft Guidance—which was marked by James Gormley and Jim Turner delivering 12,686 Citizens for Health subscriber signed petitions to 11 U.S. congresspeople and the FDA.

In 2013, CFH cited a study that obesity rates increased in recent decades, and blamed high fructose corn syrup as a primary cause, noting sugar consumption had declined during the same period. [12] CFH advocates frequently against the use of corn starch in food. [13]

Overall, Citizens for Health has fought successful campaigns to bring awareness to the dangers of water fluoridation, sucralose, aspartame, trans fats (partially hydrogenated oils), high-fructose corn syrup and its labelling, GMOs and more.

Controversy

Over the years, critics have charged that the group is a front for the sugar industry, attacking its business competitors under the umbrella of health without disclosing its ties to sugar. According to an article published in August 2012, the group had received more than half its funding in the year prior from The Sugar Association. The chairman of Citizens for Health said in an interview that the money from the sugar industry had been used to tell consumers that corn syrup isn't sugar. He acknowledged that while the organization has said it takes money from business groups, it could have done more to disclose its ties to the sugar industry. "We will make it clear as we go forward", he said. [14]

In August 2013, a CFH news release stated that it is funded by "concerned consumers, non-profit partners, food growers, and businesses," and provides supporters with ways to access healthy food, non-toxic products, "and truthful, non-misleading health information." However, the group did not disclose which food growers or businesses were funding the organization. [12]

See also

Related Research Articles

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Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or double sugars, are molecules made of two bonded monosaccharides; common examples are sucrose, lactose, and maltose. White sugar is a refined form of sucrose. In the body, compound sugars are hydrolysed into simple sugars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sucralose</span> Non-nutritive sweetener

Sucralose is an artificial sweetener and sugar substitute. As the majority of ingested sucralose is not metabolized by the body, it adds very little food energy. In the European Union, it is also known under the E number E955. It is produced by chlorination of sucrose, selectively replacing three of the hydroxy groups—in the C1 and C6 positions of the fructose portion and the C4 position of the glucose portion—to give a 1,6-dichloro-1,6-dideoxyfructose–4-chloro-4-deoxygalactose disaccharide. Sucralose is about 600 times sweeter than sucrose, 3 times as sweet as both aspartame and acesulfame potassium, and 2 times as sweet as sodium saccharin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fructose</span> Simple ketonic monosaccharide found in many plants

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sucrose</span> Disaccharide made of glucose and fructose

Sucrose, a disaccharide, is a sugar composed of glucose and fructose subunits. It is produced naturally in plants and is the main constituent of white sugar. It has the molecular formula C
12H
22O
11.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sugar substitute</span> Sugarless food additive intended to provide a sweet taste

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">High-fructose corn syrup</span> Processed corn syrup

High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), also known as glucose–fructose, isoglucose and glucose–fructose syrup, is a sweetener made from corn starch. As in the production of conventional corn syrup, the starch is broken down into glucose by enzymes. To make HFCS, the corn syrup is further processed by D-xylose isomerase to convert some of its glucose into fructose. HFCS was first marketed in the early 1970s by the Clinton Corn Processing Company, together with the Japanese Agency of Industrial Science and Technology, where the enzyme was discovered in 1965.

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Critics and competitors of high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), notably the sugar industry, have for many years used various public relations campaigns to claim the sweetener causes certain health conditions, despite the lack of scientific evidence that HFCS differs nutritionally from sugar. The HFCS industry has tried to respond to these campaigns with their own efforts.

Nutrition psychology is the psychological study of the relationship between dietary intake and different aspects of psychological health. It is an applied field that uses an interdisciplinary approach to examine the influence of diet on mental health. Nutrition psychology seeks to understand the relationship between nutritional behavior, mental health and general well-being. It is a sub-field of psychology and more specifically of health psychology, and may be applied to numerous related fields, including psychology, dietetics, nutrition, and marketing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Added sugar</span> Caloric sweeteners added to food and beverages

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<i>Pure, White and Deadly</i> Book on health problems from sugar consumption

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sugar marketing</span> Marketing of sugar

Sugar is heavily marketed both by sugar producers and the producers of sugary drinks and foods. Apart from direct marketing methods such as messaging on packaging, television ads, advergames, and product placement in setting like blogs, industry has worked to steer coverage of sugar-related health information in popular media, including news media and social media.

References

  1. ↑ CFH tax exempt status
  2. ↑ Citizens for Health (May 9, 2023). "Facebook page". Facebook. Retrieved May 9, 2023.
  3. ↑ New York Times, August 9, 1992
  4. ↑ Hearing of the U.S. House Committee on Government Reform, March 25, 1999
  5. ↑ Testimony to Food and Drug Administration, December 2010
  6. ↑ ABC News, December 15, 2010
  7. ↑ Citizens for Health (January 1, 2005). "Who We Are". Citizens for Health. Retrieved January 7, 2024.
  8. ↑ "What is Food Identity Theft.com?". Citizens for Health. Retrieved October 11, 2013.
  9. ↑ Los Angeles Times, November 29, 1993
  10. ↑ "Sugar industry files complaint over Splenda", Reuters via NBC News, November 2, 2006
  11. ↑ USA Today, August 12, 2013
  12. 1 2 TMCnet.com, August 6, 2013
  13. ↑ Chicago Tribune, September 19, 2012
  14. ↑ "Stealth lobbying used to Tout Sugar over Rival Corn Syrup". Bloomberg.com. September 18, 2012. Retrieved 2013-10-03.
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