Utah KFC asks customers to drink soda to support diabetes research

Buy an enormous jug of soda to support the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation! At least that's the idea at this Kentucky Fried Chicken franchise in Utah, where this photo of a new diabetes promotion was snapped.

Gary Feit, spokesman for the JDRF, told Joe Waters of the blog Selfish Giving who first posted the photo, that the promotion is only happening in one franchise in Utah, where the KFC owner has a personal connection to diabetes.

Feit added that type 1 diabetes, which is what JDRF researches, is not caused by diet or obesity, but occurs when the immune system attacks cells that produce insulin.

Type 2 diabetes, on the other hand, is thought to be linked to obesity. Most people with type 1 diabetes could not drink sugary soda without seriously spiking their blood sugar levels.

Sugar-free soda would most likely be fine, though a Dartmouth study found that even diet sodas may raise glucose levels when consumed in excess. (Also, the promotion explicitly features Pepsi, not Diet Pepsi.)

Waters called the promotion "ridiculous." The Huffington Post and Gizmodo have both also featured the promotion on their web sites, the latter under the headline "America, This Is Too Much."

(Photo of promotion: Selfish Giving)

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