USC Keeping Grant Money From Coca-Cola

The University of South Carolina will not be returning a $500,000 grant from Coca-Cola to start an obesity-prevention group although another college sent back $1 million from the soft-drink giant last week. The University of Colorado returned Coca-Cola’s grant for the Global Energy Balance Network, which has been criticized for downplaying the role of soft drinks in contributing to health problems and favoring theories that a lack of physical activity is a chief cause of weight gain. The network’s leader and co-founder is a professor at Colorado. Another network founder is USC exercise science professor Steven Blair. The group uses an USC email address for the public to submit questions. USC said it received $500,000 from the Coca-Cola to help establish the network and support its research. The company has no control on how the money is spent, university spokesman Wes Hickman said.