Is it our own fault that there is so much nutrition and health misinformation out there?
I thought this would be a good topic for some general discussion. In some of the “top stories” feed below I see some really questionable ones. For example, the story about Oreos being as addictive as Cocaine. Did anyone actually click through and read the article? It seems like a pretty stupid study to me. In test #1, they gave a lab rat the choice to go through a maze with two endings. One with an oreo and one with a rice cake. The rat preferred the oreo. Next they put the lab rat in the maze where one end had toe reward of cocaine and one end had the reward of a water/saline solution. They rat preferred the cocaine. Now suddenly, there is an article saying Oreos are as Addictive as cocaine!!! It’s pretty ridiculous, yet as personal trainers and group-x instructors these are exactly the kinds of tidbits and news bites we post on our facebook walls for our clients to see. Aren’t we doing them a disservice? How about the article about the “Best poses for digestion” also linked in the top stories news feed. Did you click through and read the fine print that this is based on a SINGLE yoga instructors opinion, with no scientific research to back it up? It frustrates me the amount of bad info we spread to our clients based on sensational titles. How much research do you put in to the things you share on your Facebook and Twitter feeds to your clients? Do you make a conscious effort to correct the misinformation out there? It seems like sometimes, we as professionals are our own worst enemies! What do you think?
Hi Christopher. I think that your question/post points to the need for each of us as representatives of the fitness and health industry to rely on and to know our sources of information – particularly the information that we then pass on to our clients, friends etc. Many of those who rely upon us as their initial source of fitness and health information also rely on the fact that we are ‘filtering’ what we pass on to them (by filtering I mean doing our own due diligence to make sure that the information is accurate and based on reliable sources).
The points you make are exactly why I think it’s important for each of us to decide and determine which sources we believe are credible and not simply follow EVERY headline and news report out there. As ‘they’ say, with research, “the devil is in the details!” Over my 20-year training career, I have come to recognize which sources and types of sources I give credibility to when I read their reports and studies (for example the New England Journal of Medicine), and while not everyone will ever agree on what they consider a reputable source or study, I think that as your post points out, they should at least be responsible enough to look behind the headline or story to determine it’s accuracy and whether they are comfortable with it, BEFORE passing it on to those people who follow them and rely on them as a source of fitness information.
My two cents 🙂
LaRue, CSCS
www.lecfitness.com