On 23 Nov 2004, Christopher D. Green wrote: > Since this topic has recently come up on this list... > http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20041123.wpork1123/BNPrint/specialScienceandHealth/ >
The admission of statistical errors which overstate the problem of obesity in the report of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is interesting. But there were earlier indications that all was not well with this report. Marshall (2004) reported in _Science_ back on May 7th that: "Sloth combined with bad diet may soon displace tobacco as the biggest cause of avoidable death in the United States [according to the CDC report]...But some researchers, including a few at CDC, dismiss this prediction, saying the underlying data are weak. They argue that the paper's compatibility with a new antiobesity theme in government public health pronouncements--rather than sound analysis--- propelled it into print" "Glantz and others grumble that the CDC authors use inconsistent methods for calculating relative risks associated with tobacco and bad diet...Several epidemiologists at CDC and...NIH echoed Glantz's concerns but declined to speak on the record. "I don't want to lose my job" said one." And now they admit they calculated the deaths wrong. Aside from this, I've been saying for some time on TIPS that the claim of an obesity epidemic is not well-founded. It's based on the use of arbitrary cut-offs for body mass index (BMI) which result in declaring staggering numbers of people overweight and obese (and therefore unhealthy). But there's no justification for such low-cut- offs. Raise them to values justifiable in terms of mortality, and much of the "epidemic" disappears. It is possible to be both fat and healthy. Stephen Marshall, E. (2004). Public enemy number one: tobacco or obesity? Science, v304, 804 ___________________________________________________ Stephen L. Black, Ph.D. tel: (819) 822-9600 ext 2470 Department of Psychology fax: (819) 822-9661 Bishop's University e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Lennoxville, QC J1M 1Z7 Canada Dept web page at http://www.ubishops.ca/ccc/div/soc/psy TIPS discussion list for psychology teachers at http://faculty.frostburg.edu/psyc/southerly/tips/index.htm _______________________________________________ --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
