Michelle Obama's 'Added Sugars' Label Not Backed By Science

Michelle Obama's new health project may be positive in its intention, but scientists are calling it under researched and baseless. 

The first lady's "Let's Move" campaign called for the updating of the nutrition facts label to include "added sugars." The controversial regulation is now finalized by the Food and Drug Administration.

Scientists however are now criticizing the new regulation. They claimed that having the new label will be costly and yet at the same time, quite worthless because they are not based on "sound science." 

Food manufacturers are now required under this regulation to list added sugars, which will compel them to shell out at least $640 million to update. The net social cost is estimated to be around $1.4 billion. 

Scientist deemed the new regulation lacks "scientific rigor" even if it was being pushed for the best of intentions. 

A group of scientists, composed of around a dozen, including Roger Clemens, a staunch member of the 2010 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee and Eric A. Decker, the head of the Department of Food Science at the University of Massachusetts, created a letter to harp on their concerns.

The FDA has stated its proposals are based on conclusions from the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (2015 DGAC)," the letter reads. "In addition to the widely controversial nature of its report, it is critical to note that this committee did not include a single member with a specific expertise in sugars (or any carbohydrate) metabolism. As nutrition scientists and health professionals, we feel this is of significant concern."

The scientists also emphasized in their letter that the  Institute of Medicine and the European Food Safety Authority already made the conclusion that added sugars cannot be held uniquely accountable for obesity, cardiovascular disease, or diabetes conditions. Their full letter can be read at the Free Beacon. 

Michelle Obama on the other hard, cannot be more thrilled that the FDA finally finalized the regulation, as reported by Fox News. "I am thrilled that the FDA has finalized a new and improved Nutrition Facts label that will be on food products nationwide," Mrs. Obama said in a statement. "This is going to make a real difference in providing families across the country the information they need to make healthy choices."

For her, listing the "added sugars" is a crucial element of the campaign. Companies will be provided with two years to start including "added sugars" in their labels to inform of the consumers of the sugar being added to the products they are consuming when being processed.