Nutrition and the Media

A motivational speaker once said, “A smart person believes half of what they read. An intelligent person knows which half to believe.” In this age of information where instant Internet access is just a click away, it is easy to be misled if you do not know where to go for reliable nutrition information. There are a few websites that can be consistently relied upon for accurate material that is updated regularly.

Using Eyes of Discernment

“New study shows that margarine contributes to arterial plaque.”

“Asian study reveals that two cups of coffee per day can have detrimental effects on the nervous system.”

“Stack your snacks to add three pounds of muscle.”

How do you react when you read news of this nature? Do you boycott margarine and coffee? Change your snacking habits? Nutrition-related hyperbolic headlines and advertisements have been around for decades. In the 1930s there were ads recommending a “reducing soap” that would wash away fat and years of age. In the 1950s and 60s you could reduce your weight by listening to certain music, or by rubbing an “electric spot reducer” over your abdomen. We still see similar types of advertisements on food packaging, and in print and social media. Advertisers use authority figures like actors dressed in white lab coats to convince consumers that a product is healthful. They often use anecdotal evidence (stories) like before and after pictures or warped statistics or single research studies that may contain bias to exaggerate the benefits of a weight loss plan, “health” food, or dietary supplement. But this type of advertising and these sorts of headlines seem to work. Consumers spend billions of dollars each year on special health foods and beverages or dietary supplements even though the scientific evidence that these substances live up to their hype is sorely lacking.

So what should we as consumers believe? When reading nutrition-related claims, articles, websites, or advertisements always remember that one study does not substantiate a fact. One study neither proves or disproves anything. Readers who may be looking for complex answers to nutritional dilemmas can quickly misconstrue such statements and be led down a path of misinformation. Listed below are ways that you can develop discerning eyes when reading nutritional news.

1. The scientific study under discussion should be published in a peer-reviewed journal, such as the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Question studies that come from less trustworthy sources (such as non peer-reviewed journals, popular magazines, or websites) or that are not published.
2. The report should disclose the methods used by the researcher(s). Did the study last for 3 or 30 weeks? What was the “n” (number of subjects)? The longer the study and the higher the number of subjects, the more robust and credible are the results. What did the participants actually do? Did the researcher(s) observe the results themselves or did they rely on self reports from study participants? Was there a control group who did not receive the treatment so that scientists can compare one group to another?
3. Who were the subjects of this study? Humans or animals? If human, are any traits/characteristics noted? Were confounding variables assessed? How were subjects assigned to groups (randomness)? For example, the results of a study of the effects of a dietary supplement on the hearts of cardiac patients should not be used to convince an athlete to take a dietary supplement to improve their own heart’s ability to exercise. These two types of people are quite different. You may realize you have more in common with certain program participants and can use that as a basis to gauge if the study applies to you (age, biological sex, fitness level, underlying medical conditions, geographical location, etc.)
4. Credible reports often disseminate new findings in the context of previous research. A single study on its own gives you very limited information, but if a body of literature supports a finding, it gives you more confidence in it.
5. Peer-reviewed articles published in well-respected scientific journals deliver a broad perspective and are inclusive of findings of many studies on the exact same subject. By providing a list of previously published articles related to the topic, one can see how a particular study fits into the totality of the research.
6. When reading news, ask yourself, “Is this making sense?” Even if coffee does adversely affect the nervous system, do you drink enough of it to see any negative effects? Remember, if a headline professes a new remedy for a nutrition-related topic, it may well be a research-supported piece of news, but more often than not it is a sensational story designed to catch the attention of an unsuspecting consumer. Track down the original journal article to see if it really supports the conclusions being drawn in the news report.

There are thousands of websites that contain nutrition information. When reading information on websites, Johns Hopkins University recommends that you remember the following criteria for discerning if a site is valid and the information credible:^[1]

Accuracy. Does the website use reliable research? Check many sources for the same information—are the results the same?

Authority. Websites that end in .gov or .edu (and sometimes .org), are usually the most reliable websites for health facts. Make sure the website is written by doctors, dietitians, or other experts in the health field.

Bias. Who pays for the website? If a company supports a website (usually through advertising) they may have control over the website and encourage inaccurate or misleading information that promotes a need for their product or service.

Currency. When were the facts last updated? Medical research never stops. Make sure the information is no older than 3 years.

Some non-profit, non-governmental organizations like Health on the Net (HON), affiliated with the WHO, promote transparency and reliable health information on the internet. For a fee, health-related websites can have their content checked by medical experts from these organizations for accuracy and reliability. If a website becomes certified, it will be allowed to post the organization’s logo on their site for a specified time period (usually 5 years).^[2] Other organizations like the Utilization Review Accreditation Commission (URAC) have a Health Website accreditation program that looks at both content and security settings for these sites. While these certifications do not guarantee that everything on the website is accurate or reliable, it does provide some level of assurance that the information has some validity.^[3]

Trustworthy Sources

For a list of reliable sources that advocate good nutrition to promote health and prevent disease using evidence-based science see Table “Web Resources for Nutrition and Health”, we will further discuss nutrition recommendations for Canadians.

references

Chapter 1, section 1.5 from Consumer Nutrition by Megan Grimsley and Susan Kazen published in 2021 under a CC BY-NC-SA license.