If you “Google” the word nutrition, you will get a list of about 103,000,000 entries in 0.25 seconds. Obviously, the world is full of nutrition information. Just ask anyone who is trying to lose weight and that person will probably tell you how hard it is to keep up with the latest diet advice – because it seems to keep changing. In the 1970s, waist watchers were told that carbohydrates were the bane of their existence and that a protein-rich, low-carbohydrate diet was the name of the game when it came to shrinking their waistlines. A decade later, avoiding fat was the key to winning the battle of the bulge. By 2000, carbohydrates were being ousted yet again, and protein-rich diets were back in vogue. But now protein-heavy diets seem to be fading out of the limelight and higher carbohydrate diets – with plenty of fiber – are becoming the way to fight weight gain. So . . . are you frustrated yet?
Even though popular wisdom and trends seem to change with the wind, scientific knowledge about nutrition doesn’t change this frequently. While the media publicizes results from studies deemed newsworthy, in reality it takes many, many affirming research studies before a consensus is reached about nutrition advice. News of the results of one study is just that: news. In contrast, advice from an authoritative health organization or committee, such as the American Heart Association or the Dietary Guidelines Committee, which is based on a consensus of research information, is sound information that can be trusted for the long term. Headlines in newspapers, lead articles on websites, and the sound bites on television often report the results of a single, recent research study.
The boxed feature “Evaluating Media Headlines with a Critical Eye” discusses how to scrutinize information about current research findings and not get caught up in the media hype.
Terms:
Consensus: The opinion of a group of experts based on a collection of information.
