Abstract
Much false and misleading information is being continually disseminated across many areas of nutrition. This chapter presents some illustrative examples of the problem. The examples include a TV show by Dr. Oz, unscientific weight-loss treatments, diet and exercise programs that are based on a person’s blood group, and the prevention and treatment of disease based on detoxification. There are many training programs that claim to provide training in nutrition but lack scientific credibility. This chapter also examines the problems created when food companies exert improper influence over scientific research and the closely related problem of conflict of interest in research.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Korownyk C, Kolber MR, McCormack J, et al. Televised medical talk shows – what they recommend and the evidence to support their recommendations: a prospective observational study. BMJ. 2014;349:g7346.
Firger J. CBS News. 2014 June 17. Dr. Oz defends weight-loss advice at Senate hearing on diet scams. Available at http://www.cbsnews.com/news/dr-oz-defends-weight-loss-advice-at-senate-hearing-on-diet-scams. Accessed 28 Mar 2021.
Franchini M, Lippi G. The intriguing relationship between the ABO blood group, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. BMC Med. 2015;13:7.
Cusack L, De Buck E, Compernolle V, Vandekerckhove P. Blood type diets lack supporting evidence: a systematic review. Am J Clin Nutr. 2013;98:99–104.
Lust B. Principles of health. Butler: Lust Publications; 1918. Cited by Pizzorno JE, Snider P, Katzinger J. Naturopathic medicine. In: Micozzi M, ed. Fundamentals of complementary and alternative medicine. St Louis: Saunders; 2011. p. 292–321.
Allen J, Montalto M, Lovejoy J, Weber W. Detoxification in naturopathic medicine: a survey. J Altern Complement Med. 2011;17:1175–80.
Acosta RD, Cash BD. Clinical effects of colonic cleansing for general health promotion: a systematic review. Am J Gastroenterol. 2009;104:2830–6.
Mishori R, Otubu A, Jones AA. The dangers of colon cleansing. J Fam Pract. 2011;60:454–7.
Klein AV, Kiat H. Detox diets for toxin elimination and weight management: a critical review of the evidence. J Hum Nutr Diet. 2015;28:675–86.
The American School of Natural Health. http://www.americanschoolofnaturalhealth.com
American Fitness Professionals & Associates. www.afpafitness.com
The International College of Natural Health and Traditional Chinese Medicine. http://www.internationalhealthcollege.com
Lesser LI, Ebbeling CB, Goozner M, Wypij D, Ludwig DS. Relationship between funding source and conclusion among nutrition-related scientific articles. PLoS Med. 2007;4:e5.
Sacks G, Riesenberg D, Mialon M, Dean S, Cameron AJ. The characteristics and extent of food industry involvement in peer-reviewed research articles from 10 leading nutrition-related journals in 2018. PLoS One. 2020;15:e0243144.
Ward E. Addressing nutritional gaps with multivitamin and mineral supplements. Nutr J. 2014;13:72.
Serôdio PM, McKee M, Stuckler D. Coca-Cola – a model of transparency in research partnerships? A network analysis of Coca-Cola’s research funding (2008–2016). Public Health Nutr. 2018;21:1594–607.
Greenhalgh S. Making China safe for Coke: how Coca-Cola shaped obesity science and policy in China. BMJ. 2019;364:k5050.
Barlow P, Serôdio P, Ruskin G, McKee M, Stuckler D. Science organisations and Coca-Cola’s ‘war’ with the public health community: insights from an internal industry document. J Epidemiol Community Health. 2018;72:761–3.
Suggested Further Readings
Hopf H, Krief A, Mehta G, Matline SA. Fake science and the knowledge crisis: ignorance can be fatal. R Soc Open Sci. 2019;6:190161.
Kanekar AS, Thombre A. Fake medical news: avoiding pitfalls and perils. Fam Med Community Health. 2019;7:e000142.
Swire-Thompson B, Lazer D. Public health and online misinformation: challenges and recommendations. Annu Rev Public Health. 2020;41:433–51.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Temple, N.J. (2022). Examples of False and Misleading Information. In: Wilson, T., Temple, N.J., Bray, G.A. (eds) Nutrition Guide for Physicians and Related Healthcare Professions. Nutrition and Health. Humana, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-82515-7_43
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-82515-7_43
Published:
Publisher Name: Humana, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-82514-0
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-82515-7
eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)