Sweetgreen CEO’s ConnectedIn post connecting Covid deaths to weight problems draws reaction

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Sweetgreen CEO's LinkedIn post tying Covid deaths to obesity draws backlash

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Jonathan Neman, co-founder and co-CEO of sweetgreen.

David A. Grogan|CNBC

Sweetgreen CEO and co-founder Jonathan Neman composed a ConnectedIn post Tuesday linking weight problems to the continuous pandemic, stating “no vaccine nor mask will save us” and proposing taxes on processed food and refined sugar.

The post was erased Wednesday, a number of hours after Vice released a story about it. Even prior to Vice’s post, commenters on Neman’s initial post were calling his argument “fat-phobic.”

Sweetgreen in complete confidence declared a going public in June, making this an unfavorable time for debate surrounding the business. Consumer reaction might injure both its track record and sales, shutting off financiers.

Neman’s commentary comes as the U.S. fights another wave of brand-new Covid-19 cases, leading some regions to enforce vaccination or mask requirements. As ofAug 31, the seven-day average of day-to-day brand-new U.S. cases reached 160,455, up 6% from a week earlier, according to a CNBC analysis of Johns Hopkins University information. Health authorities have actually indicated the extremely infectious delta variation as the perpetrator, especially in areas with low vaccination rates.

“78% of hospitalizations due to COVID are Obese and Overweight people,” Neman composed in the post. “Is there an underlying problem that perhaps we have not given enough attention to?”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has actually noted having a body mass index within the obese or weight problems variety as one of the aspects that can make somebody most likely to get significantly ill from Covid-19 However, some medical professionals, scientists and dietitians state that BMI is a problematic health metric since it does not represent body fat circulation or precisely anticipate the health of various races and demographics.

Neman’s figure likely originates from a short article released in March in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality WeeklyReport

In his LinkedIn post, Neman likewise stated that Covid is here to remain for the foreseeable future, and the very best bet is to concentrate on total health, rather of simply avoiding infection.

“We cannot run away from it and no vaccine nor mask will save us (in full disclosure I am vaccinated and support others to get vaccinated),” Neman composed.

He likewise called mask and vaccine requireds “government overreach” and proposed executing health requireds.

“What if we made the food that is making us sick illegal? What if we taxed processed food and refined sugar to pay for the impact of the pandemic?” he included.

Taxes on processed food and refined sugar would likely strike low-income customers the hardest. A Sweetgreen salad, which begins at $9.95, might be out of their spending plan variety.

In reaction to a commenter calling the post “fat-phobic,” Neman stated that was not his intent. He composed that the post was implied to begin a discussion about how we ought to think of health in a different way and assault the origin.

An agent for Sweetgreen did not right away react to an ask for remark from CNBC.