Study says beware of studies!
Well, the 12 days of Christmas are officially over (way over 
). It’s time to return from break! There’s a lot of important health and wellness news to share with you in this new year.
First of all, let’s take a look at an interesting study telling us to beware of studies! Researchers have reported that if a study of a beverage is funded by the beverage industry, the results may be questionable. According to Reuters Health, “Studies funded entirely by industry were four times to eight times more likely to be favorable to the financial interests of the sponsors than those paid for by other groups, the researchers found.” These findings were consistent with past similar findings on drug studies funded by drug companies.
Why is this so? is the question that comes immediately to my mind. The lead researcher of this study was quick to defend the researchers, but suggested it may be because unfavorable studies are simply not published or because researchers are restricted by the sponsor in the ways studies can be formulated.
These findings are part of the body of research making up the scientific record, which is thereby distorted. And, of course, people can be misled by these published findings. So, if you read about a study saying milk can help people lose weight, tomato juice might prevent cancer or there are benefits to fizzy sodas, beware!
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