Effects of Soft Drink Consumption on Nutrition and Health: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
By Lenny R. Vartanian et al.
The authors are with the Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, Conn.
In a meta-analysis of 88 studies, we examined the association between soft drink consumption and nutrition and health outcomes. We found clear associations of soft drink intake with increased energy intake and body weight. Soft drink intake also was associated with lower intakes of milk, calcium, and other nutrients and with an increased risk of several medical problems (e.g., diabetes).
Study design significantly influenced results: larger effect sizes were observed in studies with stronger methods (longitudinal and experimental vs cross-sectional studies). Several other factors also moderated effect sizes (e.g., gender, age, beverage type). Finally, studies funded by the food industry reported significantly smaller effects than did non-industry-funded studies. Recommendations to reduce population soft drink consumption are strongly supported by the available science.
The naivety of this paper is rather breathtaking. From their introductory courses onward, psychologists are told that correlation is not causation. So have they simply shown that fat kids drink more fizzy drinks? I would think so. In my observation they do, anyway. Fat kids eat and drink more in general. And if you drink more fizzy drinks, do you have as much room for milk etc? That gets close to being true by definition, I think. And if kids drank less softdrink, would that make them slimmer? Not if they drank more milk -- which is highly calorific. It is a disgrace that this bit of garbage "research" was ever published -- but intellectual standards in psychology have always been very low -- nearly as low as in sociology. See here. But it's good business-bashing so that ensured its publication
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Straw Man Fallacy Alert -
ReplyDeleteQ: "...if kids drank less softdrink, would that make them slimmer?
A: "Not if they drank more milk."
Pretending that the paper only identified an association between fat kids and soft drinks is totally misleading, and then condemming the paper as "...a disgrace" based on your incomplete summary is another argumentative fallacy.
The paper also found that, "Soft drink intake also was associated with... an increased risk of several medical problems (e.g., diabetes)." and, "...studies funded by the food industry reported significantly smaller effects than did non-industry-funded studies."
Are these also examples of breathtaking naivety?