The Obesity Rate for Children Has Not Plummeted

Slate looks behind the headline trumpeted by the New York Times:

 

The fat children need to get on Big Ragu's superduper eating regimen.

 

Best tag line ever?

Razib Khan is a blogger for the Unz Review at Gene Expression. He is currently a Ph.D. student studying the evolutionary genomics of the domestic cat.

 

my all time favorite NPR story dealing with obesity.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=92592545

 

Why does YF get to post Slate links without getting the business for it, huh?

 

He's more diversified.

 

He doesn't wear it like a frock coat of erudition.

 

YF, stop hogging Dickie's toys.

 

Yeah. Put articles about marijuana, poor schools, or cisphobia in the mix.

 

Good takeaways in the piece:

<i>The first concerns how the sausage is made in modern science, and the question is: Why was this even published in the first place, with all the caveats? Because a great deal of research manages to get published. Where there’s a will, there’s a way. So when you read a headline that appears too good to be true, remember: Just because it appears in a reputable journal does not mean that a study has “proved” anything.

A far bigger issue is that studies like these, and the headlines that result, drive the discussion about public health and policy in this country.</i>

 

This is what happens when you have a press looking to shape policy. And, when you have too many in the media unable to do their own research, let alone read the original study, then the spin put on it by the big boys, like the New York Times gets repeated.

Smaller news orgs think they're reporting news, when instead, they are advancing an agenda.

 

Actual answer: Journalists don't understand science.