The International Obesity Task Force has relied heavily on funding from the drug industry for a decade, despite being widely seen as an independent think tank and having ties to the World Health Organization.

Set up in the mid-1990s with help from grants from three drug companies, the task force aims to portray obesity as a “serious medical condition” and to promote better prevention and management strategies.

It has a high media profile and is highly influential. A senior US member and a well respected authority on obesity, William Dietz, is currently one of the driving forces behind a …