Behind the Headlines

1980s fat guidelines 'lacked evidence,' study argues

Tuesday Feb 10 2015

"Butter isn't bad for you after all: Major study says 80s advice on dairy fats was flawed," is the headline on the front of the Daily Mail as a new study argues dietary fat guidelines introduced in the 1980s lacked a rigorous evidence base…

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Do men have greater chewing power than women?

Monday Feb 9 2015

"Why men wolf down their meals while women take their time: The sexes have different chewing patterns," the Mail Online reports after a Korean study found men had "greater eating power" than women…

Sugary soft drinks linked to earlier periods in girls

Wednesday Jan 28 2015

"Sugary drinks may cause menstruation to start earlier, study suggests," The Guardian reports. A US study found that girls drinking more than one and a half drinks a day had their period around three months earlier than girls drinking two or less a week…

Becoming healthier may motivate your partner to join in

Tuesday Jan 20 2015

“Fitness 'rubs off on your partner’,'' BBC News reports. This headline is based on a study of more than 3,000 married couples aged 50 and over in the UK, where at least one of the partners smoked, was inactive or was overweight or obese…

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Does moderate drinking reduce heart failure risk?

Tuesday Jan 20 2015

"Seven alcoholic drinks a week can help to prevent heart disease," the Daily Mirror reports. A US study suggests alcohol consumption up to this level may have a protective effect against heart failure…

Can eating like a Viking 'reduce obesity risks'?

Thursday Jan 8 2015

"A Nordic diet could reduce the dangers of being overweight, a study suggests," The Daily Telegraph reports. The headline comes from the results of a small randomised controlled trial…

Could meal-in-a-pill 'trick' body into losing weight?

Wednesday Jan 7 2015

"Weight loss drug fools body into reacting as if it has just eaten," The Guardian reports. The drug, fexaramine, replicates signals that are produced when the body begins eating; though as yet has only been tested in mice…

Wholegrains, not just porridge, may increase life

Tuesday Jan 6 2015

"The key to a long and healthy life? A bowl of porridge every day," is the somewhat inaccurate headline in the Daily Mail. The study it reports on was looking at the health benefits of wholegrains in general, not just porridge…

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GI diet 'debunked' claims are misleading

Friday Dec 19 2014

Today, the Mail Online says: "The GI diet debunked: Glycaemic index is irrelevant for most healthy people", explaining how "it doesn't matter if you eat white or wholewheat bread". This overgeneralised and misleading headline followed...

Shift workers more likely to report poor health

Thursday Dec 18 2014

"Higher rates of obesity and ill-health have been found in shift workers than the general population," BBC News reports. These are the key findings of a survey into health trends among shift workers; defined as any working pattern outside…