Report: U.K. Anti-Obesity Charity a Front
Posted on: Sunday, 20 January 2008, 21:00 CST
The British government has been funding an anti-obesity trust that, it turns out, is a front for a weight-loss company, sources said.
The Obesity Awareness and Solutions Trust, known as TOAST, used a high-powered lobbying firm to create relationships with members of Parliament who helped the trust get thousands of dollars worth of grants, The Independent on Sunday reported.
The charity was founded by LighterLife, a company that posted about $24 million in profits last year from selling its small-group counseling approach to weight loss, the newspaper said. The bulk of the charity's funding is from tax-deductible donations from the company, the report said.
Among the trust's activities was advocacy for private health counseling for people who are not helped by the National Health Service.
A spokesman for the company denied any conflict of interest in its support for TOAST, but members of Parliament affiliated with the trust quickly distanced themselves from it -- including Health Select Committee member David Amess and former shadow health minister Chris Grayling.
Source: United Press International
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