Why do people believe so much bad science when it comes to fitness and nutrition?

joinn68 wrote: »

A bit tongue in cheek, but besides what we get from the internet and our lack of science literacy, there's a conspiracy of slim people to keep the rest of the world fat.

As an example, my BF (who doesn't eat much at all and is borderline underweight) says that it's because of her genes from her father's side. Whereas, she says that her sisters (who overeat and are correspondingly obese and morbidly obese) have genes from their mother's side of the family. The woman is a pharmacist so university educated and supposedly science-literate. And she's not the only very slim/skinny person I meet who claims that "it's natural; it's my metabolism; I have great genes; I can eat anything".
I remember like 30 years ago already, a slim friend of my mom selling her Herbalife...

And we, fat people, believe them! Why wouldn't we.

There are a lot of practicing scientists who are scientifically illiterate. Scientific literacy is a specific analytical skill, and a lot of jobs in science don't require it.

I remember there was a thing going around on Facebook a while ago, a letter a parent sent to a teacher. The parent had a masters in engineering and found his daughter's common core math lesson so infuriatingly difficult that he had to write a letter about it. The people of Facebook said, "See! It's not just us, the Engineer has trouble with it, too! Down With Common Core, Boo!" Really, all that shows is that it is entirely possible to receive a degree in engineering when you don't have enough mathematical literacy to complete a second grader's conceptual math homework.

Similarly, there are people who receive degrees in STEM fields without enough scientific literacy to separate pseudoscience from objective facts. It doesn't mean they're not good at what they do, it's just a different skill.

How many times have you heard, "My best friend is skinny and she eats McDonald's every day".

So, people get in their head, I will lose this weight in a month. Then I can eat McDonald's every day.

The skinny people I know, really don't eat crap every day. I can recall when friends stopped by when I use to bake cookies. I'd ask if they want one and they say, no thanks I'm not hungry. I was like what the hell does being hungry have to do with eating cookies.

And there it is. That's why I track. That's why I track screw up days. I journal why I ate like that. What happened. I want to be prepared the next time I feel that way. I want a plan of attack. I want to change. Others haven't got there yet.

Then add in the media hype of nutrisystem 5 in 5, or take this pill and never diet again. It just sounds worth the chance I guess.

sanrocha8 wrote: »

What an awesome thread. As a STEM major I hope to not become scientifically illiterate.

Being scientifically illiterate is the default position. We have to work to become aware and skilled at reading scientific articles because they are challenging reading with enormous amounts of background information and assumptions that are hard to sort through.

Best thing you can do, then is join your field's professional organization. For example, I joined the American Chemical Society as an undergraduate chemistry major. They all have weekly scientific journals with broad interest. The ACS publishes "Chemical & Engineering News", which has a variety of pieces on everything from scientific breakthroughs to chemical company business news. Read it. Every.. single... week. Cover to cover. And analyze what you're reading. Take notes.

Yes, its a lot of reading, but you will become aware of many things with this practice. First, you will understand your field in general far better than most of your peers, because very few people prioritize taking this time. Second, you will start to recognize good vs bad science writing and reporting. Third, you will be far less likely to be taken in by general reports on the mass media about scientific topics, having already read targeted updates. Third, you will become accustomed to reading scientific journal articles.

In graduate school I developed the habit of reading a minimum of two original research articles in my field every single day. This was a spectacularly good use of my time, making the writing of papers and the understanding of my field so much easier. When carefully read, that translates to approximately 60 minutes a day... not much out of a 10 hour workday but ever so profitable.

I also recommend joining the American Academy for the Advancement of Sciences, regardless of your field. Student memberships are pretty cheap, and you get your own copy of Science weekly. It has some very impactful research on a variety of fields, and will broaden your knowledge and the approaches you are able to use.