Example of how the media regurgitates “science” or “health” stories

[iolaire]

I’ve seen a few people on the forum question treatments promoted by people highly invested in the treatments.  This article is more related to weight loss but it does do a very good job illustrating how just because someone can get written about in main stream media, or published in a science journal doesn’t mean its valid science.

Short summary, intentionally someone setup a real study with 15 people to measure the effect of dieting well eating chocolate (the dark chocolate favored by health books), measuring numerous factors.  They picked and choose the factors at the end that showed chocolate had positive effects and disregarded the factors that didn’t show what they wanted to show. 

They submitted it to a pay to publish science journal, sent out a press release and had global coverage, not one reporter questioned their science or got a third party opinion.  This included Self magazine a major US health and fitness magazine that my wife subscribes to.

http://io9.com/i-fooled-millions-into-thinking-chocolate-helps-weight-1707251800
I Fooled Millions Into Thinking Chocolate Helps Weight Loss. Here's How.
“Slim by Chocolate!” the headlines blared. A team of German researchers had found that people on a low-carb diet lost weight 10 percent faster if they ate a chocolate bar every day. It made the front page of Bild, Europe’s largest daily newspaper, just beneath their update about the Germanwings crash. From there, it ricocheted around the internet and beyond, making news in more than 20 countries and half a dozen languages. It was discussed on television news shows. It appeared in glossy print, most recently in the June issue of Shape magazine (“Why You Must Eat Chocolate Daily”, page 128). Not only does chocolate accelerate weight loss, the study found, but it leads to healthier cholesterol levels and overall increased well-being. The Bild story quotes the study’s lead author, Johannes Bohannon, Ph.D., research director of the Institute of Diet and Health: “The best part is you can buy chocolate everywhere.”

I am Johannes Bohannon, Ph.D. Well, actually my name is John, and I’m a journalist. I do have a Ph.D., but it’s in the molecular biology of bacteria, not humans. The Institute of Diet and Health? That’s nothing more than a website.

Other than those fibs, the study was 100 percent authentic. My colleagues and I recruited actual human subjects in Germany. We ran an actual clinical trial, with subjects randomly assigned to different diet regimes. And the statistically significant benefits of chocolate that we reported are based on the actual data. It was, in fact, a fairly typical study for the field of diet research. Which is to say: It was terrible science. The results are meaningless, and the health claims that the media blasted out to millions of people around the world are utterly unfounded.

Here’s how we did it.


I’m glad there are people out there who care about things like this that bother me but I’ll do nothing about….

[Michael Murphy]

As the great American P. T. Barnum said " Theres a sucker born every minute"   

[Deanne]

Thanks for the reminder about how important it is to be skeptical of everything we read. People on the internet are especially great at wording things to make everything sound well-researched.

[Charlie B53]

Could this be another example of the 'Self-fulfilling Prophecy'?  By his words, and actions, he proved something to be true, even though it was not.  Or did he purposely set out with 'Intent' to fool people into believing something that he KNEW was not?

It is difficult to conduct a truly 'blind' study.  It is too easy to accept data that supports your theory and ignore that data that contradicts you.

I can admit that I am a 'Chocaholic'.  As long as I have a stash around, I can refrain from eating it, and only have a small taste once in a while.  But once it is all gone I get desperate, and GOT TO have some.  Once I replenish that 'stash', I can leave it along for weeks.  I have lost a LOT of weight in the last two years.  I don't any of my weight loss is from NOT eating chocolate, it is simply from severley reducing carbs in the form of 'white' stuff, like flour, sugar, and the foods made from them.  I still eat more natural forms of 'white' as in rice and potatoes, just not near as much as I used to.

It could be possible to claim that a part of my weight loss is still credited to my still eating chocolate, but that would be misleading to attempt to justify eating chocolate on a regular basis.

All things in moderation.  Everything should be included in most any 'diet'.  However it is essential not to overdo any one thing.  Setting those self-imposed limits is the key to success.

[kristina]

I’ve seen a few people on the forum question treatments promoted by people highly invested in the treatments.  This article is more related to weight loss but it does do a very good job illustrating how just because someone can get written about in main stream media, or published in a science journal doesn’t mean its valid science.

Short summary, intentionally someone setup a real study with 15 people to measure the effect of dieting well eating chocolate (the dark chocolate favored by health books), measuring numerous factors.  They picked and choose the factors at the end that showed chocolate had positive effects and disregarded the factors that didn’t show what they wanted to show. 

They submitted it to a pay to publish science journal, sent out a press release and had global coverage, not one reporter questioned their science or got a third party opinion.  This included Self magazine a major US health and fitness magazine that my wife subscribes to.

http://io9.com/i-fooled-millions-into-thinking-chocolate-helps-weight-1707251800
I Fooled Millions Into Thinking Chocolate Helps Weight Loss. Here's How.
“Slim by Chocolate!” the headlines blared. A team of German researchers had found that people on a low-carb diet lost weight 10 percent faster if they ate a chocolate bar every day. It made the front page of Bild, Europe’s largest daily newspaper, just beneath their update about the Germanwings crash. From there, it ricocheted around the internet and beyond, making news in more than 20 countries and half a dozen languages. It was discussed on television news shows. It appeared in glossy print, most recently in the June issue of Shape magazine (“Why You Must Eat Chocolate Daily”, page 128). Not only does chocolate accelerate weight loss, the study found, but it leads to healthier cholesterol levels and overall increased well-being. The Bild story quotes the study’s lead author, Johannes Bohannon, Ph.D., research director of the Institute of Diet and Health: “The best part is you can buy chocolate everywhere.”

I am Johannes Bohannon, Ph.D. Well, actually my name is John, and I’m a journalist. I do have a Ph.D., but it’s in the molecular biology of bacteria, not humans. The Institute of Diet and Health? That’s nothing more than a website.

Other than those fibs, the study was 100 percent authentic. My colleagues and I recruited actual human subjects in Germany. We ran an actual clinical trial, with subjects randomly assigned to different diet regimes. And the statistically significant benefits of chocolate that we reported are based on the actual data. It was, in fact, a fairly typical study for the field of diet research. Which is to say: It was terrible science. The results are meaningless, and the health claims that the media blasted out to millions of people around the world are utterly unfounded.

Here’s how we did it.


I’m glad there are people out there who care about things like this that bother me but I’ll do nothing about….

Thank you iolaire for this very interesting article... there is one question that suddenly "spooks" through my mind:
Could it be, that these researchers were indirectly "employed" by a few chocolate companies ?
... I wonder about this because I have read recently that "Suchard", "Milka" and the Swiss "Toblerone"
are battling a bit a little because people are becoming more health-conscious and therefore ...
... Just a thought...
Best wishes from Kristina

[iolaire]

Thank you iolaire for this very interesting article... there is one question that suddenly "spooks" through my mind:
Could it be, that these researchers were indirectly "employed" by a few chocolate companies ?
... I wonder about this because I have read recently that "Suchard", "Milka" and the Swiss "Toblerone"
are battling a bit a little because people are becoming more health-conscious and therefore ...
... Just a thought...
Best wishes from Kristina

It was a setup by:
I got a call in December last year from a German television reporter named Peter Onneken. He and his collaborator Diana Löbl were working on a documentary film about the junk-science diet industry.They wanted me to help demonstrate just how easy it is to turn bad science into the big headlines behind diet fads. And Onneken wanted to do it gonzo style: Reveal the corruption of the diet research-media complex by taking part.
The whole point was to call attention to the fact that the media will publish bad science without any cross checking.  And likely connecting that to the "junk-science diet industry."

It would also be interesting to see the German documentary that is coming out this week.

[kristina]

Thanks again iolaire.
Do you think this film might be shown on youtube?
In which language do they show the film ? English or German?
Do you read/speak German?
Thanks again from Kristina.

[talker]

As the great American P. T. Barnum said " Theres a sucker born every minute"   

                       

http://www.thetalker.org/archives/141/14-pt-barnum-would-approve-kevin-trudeauss-ways/comment-page-1/#comment-35266

                         

[iolaire]

Thanks again iolaire.
Do you think this film might be shown on youtube?
In which language do they show the film ? English or German?
Do you read/speak German?
Thanks again from Kristina.

You could star with the link in the story:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8wQEYoyCU-g&feature=youtu.be
I don't know what will happen when the full feature is released.

[kristina]

Thanks again for the giggle iolaire,
I have just clicked the link you have so kindly provided and I could watch the film on youtube:
"a scientific lie travels through the world" and it is just wonderful and hilarious to watch !
Thanks again for a much needed giggle,
Best wishes from Kristina.