INTRODUCTION: Newspaper reports advocating dietary intake changes may impact on dietary choice and food related health beliefs. The scientific basis and quality of evidence underpinning these reports is uncertain. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the scientific quality of newspaper reporting related to dietary advice. DESIGN: Articles offering dietary advice from the top ten selling UK newspapers for a randomly selected week were assessed using two established evidence grading scales: developed by the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) and the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN). RESULTS: Of 111 dietary health claims identified, 72% and 68% (assessed by WCRF and SIGN criteria respectively) had levels of evidence lower than the convincing or probable categories that are recommended for dietary health claims. CONCLUSIONS: Misreporting of dietary advice by UK newspapers is widespread and may contribute to public misconceptions about food and health.
INTRODUCTION: Newspaper reports advocating dietary intake changes may impact on dietary choice and food related health beliefs. The scientific basis and quality of evidence underpinning these reports is uncertain. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the scientific quality of newspaper reporting related to dietary advice. DESIGN: Articles offering dietary advice from the top ten selling UK newspapers for a randomly selected week were assessed using two established evidence grading scales: developed by the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) and the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN). RESULTS: Of 111 dietary health claims identified, 72% and 68% (assessed by WCRF and SIGN criteria respectively) had levels of evidence lower than the convincing or probable categories that are recommended for dietary health claims. CONCLUSIONS: Misreporting of dietary advice by UK newspapers is widespread and may contribute to public misconceptions about food and health.
Keywords:
foods; health; health claim; newspaper article; systematic review
Authors: Joseph W Taylor; Marie Long; Elizabeth Ashley; Alex Denning; Beatrice Gout; Kayleigh Hansen; Thomas Huws; Leifa Jennings; Sinead Quinn; Patrick Sarkies; Alex Wojtowicz; Philip M Newton Journal: PLoS One Date: 2015-06-17 Impact factor: 3.240