Russian tennis player Maria Sharapova, the world's top paid female athlete, "came under attack on Tuesday for using her fame on court to sell a brand of sweets to her young followers," according to Sasha Skovron of REUTERS. Sharapova has taken the first steps to becoming her own brand "by launching a range of sweets called Sugarpova that includes a variety of sugary and sour confectionary in shapes ranging from tennis balls to lips." The National Obesity Forum accused Sharapova of being "irresponsible" for using her role model status to promote unhealthy eating and failing to identify the difference between snacking and excessive consumption. London-based National Obesity Forum member and Child Growth Foundation Chair Tam Fry said, "Maria promoting her sugary sweets is OK, but only if she makes clear that you can only eat sweets like that every day and look like her if you are playing tennis 15 hours a day." Sharapova: "Of course sugar is meant to be bad for you but my philosophy has always been everything in moderation." A spokesperson for Selfridges said that "the sales were going well and stressed Sharapova's comments about moderation" (REUTERS, 6/25).
