14: Why Recent Studies Don't Mean Shit

According to a recent study…… who cares what your recent study says! Is it earth shattering? Paradigm shifting? Revolutionary? Game changing? Groundbreaking? No, it is not. But that’s not what the news media, internet ads, and radio spots will tell you. Outside of weight loss medications (a category of their own), there haven’t been any truly paradigm shifting research in diet, exercise or behavior modification for many, many years and there isn’t going to be for weight loss (I’m not talking about health, just the number on the scale). We already have mountains of research on what works (and doesn’t), we just can’t properly formulate or execute a plan. Much of this stems from the lack of control in our food environment and our incredible drive to eat. In today’s episode The Nutrition Grouch talks about His disdain for the ads on ESPN sponsored by Taboola – such trash How new studies don’t nullify and trump the existing 50 studies on a topic Why I love research papers from the 80’s and 90’s but no one pays attention to them How we’re going to look back on this fad diet period and say those people (researchers) were idiots for trying to lose weight using dietary strategies in a 21st century food environment Why both journalists and researchers are trapped in their methods of storytelling Why conducting research is a painfully slow, methodical, and grinding process that does not allow for immediate “breakthroughs” but takes years and decades to “inch” forward The difference between randomized controlled trials, observational studies, review papers, and meta-analysis and what the advantages and disadvantages are Why no new diet, exercise or behavior research will ever beat Zepbound or Mounjaro As well as BMW drivers and Platinum Ford-150 guy living in so-so apartment complexes and trailer parks, standing on your left leg and chewing bubble gum while exercising, 1984 mac computers vs. supercomputers, mystery doctors and miracle cures, flies landing on elephants, writing hit songs on the back of napkins vs. conducting research, Chuck Norris’ two minute routine, the illusion of explanatory depth in test taking, how toilets work, how research is more selfish than it is altruistic, significance vs meaningfulness, why nutrition articles written 10 or 20 years ago will still be relevant 10 or 20 years from now (not much changes), and why the biological drive to eat will never be overcome by diet, exercise or behavior modification strategies.