The Big Fat Lies about Britain's obesity epidemic

Yes, I read that and posted it on another forum I was a member on but it wasnt appreciated , can you believe that the newspaper itself was critised as being a rag . To be honest, I dont care where useful/ informative articles are placed, media cover is media cover whatever the media . I guess that there will always be arguements for and against low carbing , as long as the content is good so that we can make informed decisions .

I quickly scanned down the link; way too long to read in full (I have a very short attention span).

Taking a step back from the main points of the article, I too think that the FSA are to blame. However, not because they are telling us all unwittingly to eat the wrong things but because they allow the food industry to put so much GARBAGE into our foodstuffs in the first place.

IMHO, that is the real crux of the problem.

Cut out all the additives, e numbers, etc, etc so that we are limiting the amount of toxins we consume. Then and only then should we be going into such detail about the more specific food items, etc mentioned in that incredibly long, but very informative article.

People don't get fat eating salads, veg or pure meat products.

People do get fat from eating crisps, chocolate, BIg Macs, fries, milkshakes, etc, etc because they are modified, tampered with and full of processed sugars

Its the comments that get me - all the "utter rubbish" ones, with nothing to back them up, etc....imo even if it WERE rubbish, what harm is there in people trying it for a week or two, oh, boo hoo you might not get to eat the loaf of bread you normally do? and what? if its going to drop weight off you, give it a go! Its not like you have to ban carbs out of every meal if you dont want to, but why have it with every single meal when as the article says, the excess starch turns into fat anyway?

I have asked Diabetes Uk and the FSa for references to any studies which show that the low carb /low fat diet is beneficial or that high fat is harmful.Surprise,surprise, they haven't!
Hana In all the studies that I've been able to trace, which purport to show that fat is harmful, non DOES.
I think they rely on the fact that only a small percentage of the population can evaluate a scientific paper.
there was a discussion on Radio 4 the other morning, on how few MPs Theree are with science backgrounds. No wonder they get bamboozled into accepting all the guff they are given.
In this country, the humanities and the arts are given too much weighting, when considering if someone is "educated".
think of the discussions on BBC2 and radio 4, where Intellectuals talk. Is there ever a scientist?
Only Richard Dawkins is known to most people and that's for being scared of God, not for discussing nutrition
Hana

Evaluation of any scientific paper is IMHO subjective. Our own biases, agendas and opinions come into play when we read through them. If it is something that you do not agree with because of your personal views then you are hardly going to quote it and will dismiss it. Small studies over a relatively short period of time do not tell us much either.
I don't think you need to be a scientist to evaluate and as for a small percentage being able to do this,I also question that idea.

A very sensible article that asks very serious questions about so-called 'healthy eating.'

The low fat myths are now so well & widely believed (repeat a lie often enough & it will be accepted as true) than it would be considered unethical to do a research study on saturated fat consumption.

I was delighted to read this article in the main stream UK press. However it may get less attention than it deserves as it seems to be aimed at getting us to buy the book.
I would hope that it stimulates a debate but that seems unlikely as all the vested interests may simply dismiss it.

As to scientific papers, my view is that much of what is published in learned journals simply disappears into obscurity and only sees the light of day if it is extensively quoted in support (usually) of arguments by others researching in a similar area. Then it becomes a sort of academic "celebrity paper" that has to be quoted by everyone in the same field. Science is like a wall, built one brick at a time on top of the work of others.

I think it's very encouraging to read such healthy scepticism about conventional dietary wisdom.
It's partly the communal reinforcement of the established ideas that have pushed the developed world towards crises in obesity and diabetes.
Three decades of unsubstantiated claims about the dangers of fats, the supposed benign effect of carbohydrates have been reinforced by the repeated assertions of small but influential communities of medics, politicians and the press which support them. It's this communal reinforcement that has seen such conventional wisdom supplant and overwhelm actual scientific evidence.
My fear is that the communities of self-appointed experts, inherently resistant to challenge, are just too well established (and well funded) to allow such scepticism to flourish.
Nice try though.

fergus

Catherine, you misunderstand me
There are protocols for evaluating the validity of scientific papers. it's not just a subjective thing based on ones own prejudices. Or it shouldn't be
Hana

I am not a moron Hana, I do understand. When you and I are looking for something to validate our claims, it would be pointless to bring something forward that says the opposite of what you want to prove. I could put hundreds of papers here that support my dietary habits and you could probably do the same about yours. If scientists keep publishing then things change as more evidence becomes available. I am not disputing how evaluation takes place, more our interpretation of it.

I did read the article, but was disappointed, not because that it didn't say what I wanted, but because it sounded so much like Taubes book about fats!! What she is saying is nothing new she's reallying not putting forward any new information to support what she is saying... Just repeating Taubes, it does make you wonder if her book is same as Taubes?

There was some misleading information she actually included though, which is based upon that people consum a lot more foods per day than perhaps many people did several generations ago, what ever diet one chooses this must be a consideration, if your total calories intake far exceeds your daily requirement, then one going to put on wieght...

I was also interested in her, exercise doesn't help weight loss, which again phsyically almost every daily chore that we do in any one day, is phsyically easier than several generations ago from washing to dusting everything is easier and lighter work than it used to be... And well looking even at manual labouring activites this is now automated, or lifting equipement brought in... So it's no wonder that if we are to maitain a level of fitness or weight we need to put a lot more in to active exercise to make any gains..

It's about time someone put fresh edvidence into the arena rather than repeating what others have said before them, and earnt a profit out of selling a book

Hi Jo - plus the money from her foods in a box!

She is a lawyer with a sharp mind who could see that as so many people could not be bothered to cook she could tap into a market. If she is earning more than practicing law - need I say more!

I wonder if she has ever actually analysed food diaries - she might have a shock!

ally5555 said:

Hi Jo - plus the money from her foods in a box!

She is a lawyer with a sharp mind who could see that as so many people could not be bothered to cook she could tap into a market. If she is earning more than practicing law - need I say more!

I wonder if she has ever actually analysed food diaries - she might have a shock!

Click to expand...

Your probably right Ally but then she has the experts to do the analysis.


Professor John Iain Broom

A leading UK expert and NHS Consultant for obesity. He is a Professor of Clinical Biochemistry at the Robert Gordon University, as well as a Professor of Metabolic Medicine at the University of Aberdeen

Dr. David Haslam

A Physician in Obesity Medicine at the Centre for Obesity Research at Luton & Dunstable Hospital. He is also Clinical Director of the UK’s National Obesity Forum. Dr. Haslam is a GP with a special interest in obesity and cardiometabolic diseases. He took charge of formulating the guidelines for management of childhood obesity with the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health. His articles about nutrition and weight loss have been widely published in journals and, papers. Dr. Haslam also speaks internationally on obesity and related diseases.

Cheers
Graham

Graham - they are prob just figure heads - it is common practice to have these experts in companies and who knows if they know how they are being used - have seen it before and they make money too. They are not talking about her advice are they ? She does not have a nutritionist listed by the way and also has that mad doc briffa - need I say more !

It is a money making enterprise - wish i had thought of it lol!

But surely Ally they would not endorse the website if the nutrional data was in anyway suspect.

Talking of making money what was the name of the Dietitian that you have a lot of regard for, you know the one that offers consultations on a web site at a reduced rates to members and I think she writes books too. I f you can't recall her name I will check it out for you.

Kind Regards
Graham

Graham - u are very naeive - they act as consultants to loads of companies . I work freelance but did you know that dietitians are not allowed to endorse anything . Who are you talking about ?

It would be interesting to see if those doctors do the same as hannah in their nhs roles - bet they dont Graham !

Oh and as for analysing pts diets I wonder if they could lol!

Where did those two names spring from as they weren't mentioned in her ariticle?

What I would like to see is some firm edvience, that isn't link to any individual who is promoting an idea or earning money from it, which isn't going so far back into time that it bares little resemblance to modern man....

Which does seem to be a trait of most of these types of Authors, we need proper facts based on man here and now.. Sadly it's seems that a lot of under-pining for what is said is based on a little research done too many years ago, when the ability to probably validate their conclusions really weren't there..

Perhaps Keyes is flawed, but with saying that how is one supposed to set prerimeters, to take into condideration of the flaws of man himself, that of not being totally honest with there food intake, this is the lynch pin that used to undermin keyes research, that people misrepersented what they had or hadn't eaten leading to a invalidated conclusions of facts..

ally5555 said:

Graham - u are very naeive - they act as consultants to loads of companies . I work freelance but did you know that dietitians are not allowed to endorse anything . Who are you talking about ?

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Ally this is the thread were Sarah Shenker was mentioned if you google diet freedom you could book a consultation. Trouble is Ally it's you thats naive in thinking Low Carb diets will some how fade away when the evidence is that they go from strength to strength.

viewtopic.php?f=25&t=11430&p=108023&hilit=Sarah+Schenker#p108023


Jopar they are listed on the golower site as consultants.