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As a senior vice president for food giant ConAgra, Pat Verduin yesterday entered a potential lion's den a Harvard obesity symposium filled with health experts alarmed by Americans' eating habits. During the rare encounter between corporate food makers and some of their most stringent critics, she flashed a slide showing her firm's healthier brands, like Healthy Choice and Egg Beaters, but then sought to soften the crowd: "We make Slim Jims. I'm going to be honest with you," said Verduin, to laughter. The Harvard Medical School two-day symposium, attended by about 140 people yesterday, took place against a backdrop of considerable alarm over childhood obesity. The concern is particularly felt in the halls of Harvard and its affiliated hospitals, whose researchers have played a central role studying and publicizing the obesity problem. Yesterday, a study led by a Children's Hospital Boston researcher predicted obesity-related deaths would reverse the century-long upward climb of US life expectancy, a controversial claim that generated international headlines. … Dr. Maxime Buyckx, Coke's director of nutrition and health sciences, told the crowd that the soft drink maker refrains from advertising during kids' television programs and had introduced more informative nutritional labels on some of its products. Many obesity experts consider soft drinks singularly bad: sugar-saturated water that wreaks havoc with kids' bodies. Some studies have linked soft drink consumption with obesity. "Does your company feel any responsibility for creating this situation?" said Northeastern University law professor and public health advocate Richard Daynard. Buyckx replied, "I didn't want to start a debate."
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