1. Judith E. Brown Prof. Albia Dugger Miami-Dade College www.cengage.com/nutrition/brown Ways of Knowing about Nutrition Unit 3

2. Is what I hear about nutrition true? Nutrition information offered to the public does not have to be true or even likely true Ranges in quality from sound and beneficial to outrageous and harmful Reliable information about nutrition and health is generated by scientific studies Science is knowledge gained by systematic study

3. Why is there so much misinformation? Misleading and fraudulent information exists primarily because of financial interests, and personal beliefs and convictions

4. Motivation #1: Profit Many in the nutrition business make money from people who seek quick, easy results People are willing to believe nonsense and buy fraudulent products for many reasons

5. Create Your Own Fraudulent Product

6. Controlling Nutrition Frauds Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Can remove ads from airwaves and internet Report fraudulent ads at: www.ftc.gov/bcp/consumers.htm

7. Science for Sale Many researchers have a financial interest in their research results Hold a patent for the product Are paid industry consultants Have financial affiliations with the company producing the product

8. Researchers With Financial Interest

9. Who is Conducting the Research? Nutrition research is often conducted by people or companies that have a stake in the results

10. Checklist for Identifying Misinformation

11. The Business of Nutrition News News media may sensationalize or oversimplify stories to increases ratings Decisions about personal nutrition should be broadly supported by science

12. How Media Confuse the Public

13. Motivation #2: Personal Beliefs Alternative health practitioners may claim results from nutritional remedies when a condition goes away by itself Until they are evaluated, untested remedies should be considered neither safe nor effective

14. Supplements for Health Problems

15. Professionals with Embedded Beliefs Even doctors and university professors sometimes cling to theories that have been disproven Contributes to consumer confusion and increases health risk

16. How to Identify Nutrition Truths Scientific evidence is obtained from laboratory, animal, and human studies Studies are used to develop public policies about nutrition and health

17. Evidence-Based Nutrition Tool Developed by: American Academy of Family Physicians American Dietetic Association National Council on Aging See Illustration 3.7 on page 3-8

18. Sources of Reliable Information

19. Nutrition Information on the Web Most-reliable sites: Government health agencies (.gov) Educational institutions (.edu) Professional health and science organizations (.org)

20. Media Menu

21. Qualified Nutrition Professionals Who are qualified nutrition professionals? Dieticians or nutritionists who are registered, licensed, or certified according to national or state regulations

22. Who’s Who in Nutrition and Dietetics

23. The Methods of Science Scientific method A carefully planned method of scientific research

24. Developing the Plan Starts with clearly stating the question to be addressed Example: Do vitamin X supplements increase hair loss?

25. Hypothesis: A Testable Question Hypothesis A statement that can be proved or disproved by the research Example: Vitamin X supplements of 25,000 IU/day taken for three months increase hair loss in healthy adults

26. Research Design: Gathering the Right Information 1. What type of research design should be used? Epidemiological study Clinical trial

27. Key Terms Experimental group Randomly assigned group of subjects that receives the test treatment (vitamin X) Control group Comparison group that receives a placebo (an inactive, imitation treatment)

28. Key Terms Double-blind procedure Neither the scientist nor the patient knows if the patient is taking the drug or the placebo Placebo effect Changes in health or perceived health that result from expectation that a “treatment” will produce an effect on health

29. Double-Blind Study Which is the vitamin X supplement? Knowing which group is which may change expectations and influence results

30. Research Design: Choosing Research Subjects Exclude people with other conditions that cause the same problem People who already take vitamin X People who are already bald

31. Research Design: How Many Subjects are Needed? A mathematical formula determines the number of people needed to ensure any differences in results between groups are significant

32. What is the Right Number?

33. Research Design: What Information is Collected? Collect all information that either supports or refutes the hypothesis

34. Research Design: How is the Information Collected? “Garbage in – garbage out” Use a method that is known to produce accurate results

35. Research Design: How are the Findings Analyzed? Statistically significant results Statistical tests are used to identify significant differences between findings from the experimental and control groups Determine the probability that differences are real, not due to chance or coincidence

36. Design of the Vitamin X Study

37. Obtaining Approval for Human Subjects Institutional review boards study the proposed plans to make sure they follow safety rules for human research Subjects must consent in writing to participate

38. Implementing the Study Grant to fund research is obtained Subjects are recruited and monitored Results are checked and computer-analyzed Statistical tests are applied Findings are recorded

39. Evaluating the Results Cause-and-effect relationship A condition directly causes a particular event Results may be associated with the results without being the cause of the results

40. Overview of Vitamin X Study

41. Glossary of Research Terms

43. Science and Personal Decisions When making personal decisions about nutrition, only scientific studies based on facts and evidence produce information you can count on