In December 1994 the former U.S. surgeon general launched a national weight-loss campaign, stating that 300,000 lives were lost each year due to Obesity.
The beginning of a long influential life for the statistic was marked by this. The number was cited to highlight the seriousness of the epidemic. It was used in FDA approval hearings for weight-loss medications with questionable safety profiles. The drug dexfenfluramine was pulled from the market because it could cause heart valves to fail. The risk of heart attacks and strokes was increased by removing the drug.
After a decade, the number of deaths attributed to high weight had ballooned to nearly 400,000, with predictions that it would soon reach half a million. The seemingly staggering numbers were overturned by 2005. One of the most cited epidemiologists in her field was the statistics slayer, who was named after the senior scientist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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Flegal led a study that showed that the deaths related to obese people were not expected to be so high.
Her work should not have caused such a stir. It was supported by the CDC and received a 2006 Charles C. Shepard Science Award, one of the agency's most prestigious honors. The study was met with a lot of skepticism.
Flegal says that people were contacting journalists to say that the article was rubbish. Someone wanted a controversy and our findings produced it.
In this short documentary, Retro Report and Scientific American look at how biases about body size can affect the questions scientists investigate and what information people accept as true.
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There are many myths, assumptions and biases in the field of Obesity research. Flegal says they are supported by societal weight stigma and the financial interests of the pharmaceutical and weight-loss industries. She says that it is difficult to study the whole area of body weight. There are so many interests involved.
Despite the lack of evidence, the 300,000 deaths figure is still alive and well despite the stubbornness of the beliefs about obese people. In the past year it has appeared in a variety of newspapers. The Health Statistics Center of the West Virginia health department has not been updated in over a year. It has been mentioned in a number of publications recently. It is a favorite of weightloss centers across the country.
Flegal theorizes that people prefer a larger number. I don't think it should be a factor in science, but I think it has more of an effect than we might realize.
The process of science is affected by bias. In nutrition science and medicine, the idea of thinner is better than skinnier. The findings are often qualified by the phrase "obesity paradoxes."
Flegal says that you can report the same findings about Obesity 100 times. At what point would you change your mind and say this might be the result?
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The term "obesity paradox" can lead to disbelief, even though it has been documented in several conditions.
Caan says that people find evidence that supports their beliefs. We need to study where the data leads. Retaining muscle during breast cancer treatment is more important to survival than avoiding weight gain, according to a discovery made by her.
Caan says that they can't be stuck in what they thought was true because they're never going to move the field forward.
