MONTGOMERY (AP) -- Alabama physician Regina Benjamin, President Obama's nominee for surgeon general, has been paid $10,000 since last year to serve on a scientific advisory board for fast-food giant Burger King, The Washington Times reported Thursday.
The newspaper reported that newly filed financial disclosure documents revealed the payments to King, who has drawn wide praise for running a health clinic in Bayou La Batre.
Officials with Burger King said Benjamin served on a nutritional advisory panel that was formed last year during "ongoing efforts to promote balanced diets and active lifestyle choices."
Burger King and other fast-food chains have has been under pressure in recent years to offer healthier meals amid concerns over the role of fast food in obesity.
Vicki Rivas-Vazquez, a spokeswoman for the Department of Health and Human Services, said Benjamin would resign her position from Burger King upon Senate confirmation. Benjamin also will recuse herself from any matters involving Burger King for the next two years as part of the Obama administration's ethics pledge, she said.
Benjamin, a 52-year-old Daphne native, was the first black woman and the first doctor under age 40 elected to the American Medical Association's board of trustees.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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