General Discussion

alarimer

(17,146 posts)

60. You cannot trust what the mainstream media says about studies like this.

Fri Apr 21, 2017, 10:12 AM

Apr 2017

They are not scientists or statisticians and they mangle it every single time.

First of all, tripling the risk sounds like a lot, but is it really? Going from .01% to .03% (and I made up these numbers) is in fact tripling, but is still vanishingly small.

What was the study sample size? Were there controls for other, confounding factors? Is this a properly controlled study? Is a meta-analysis? All of these things matter in how seriously we should take this news.

My point, take it with a grain of salt.

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NBC Nightly News is covering risk of stroke or dementia tripling from [View all] Ilsa Apr 2017 OP

Another great reason to smoke weed BannonsLiver Apr 2017 #1

Whoa. I hadn't read that. Don't enjoy smoking weed anymore. But that is amazing. KittyWampus Apr 2017 #2

Whoopee! I'm gonna be SO freakin smart! flying_wahini Apr 2017 #6

I think that why the chump administration wants to go after pot kimbutgar Apr 2017 #19

but then i get hungry!.... samnsara Apr 2017 #53

There's a lot of chemical crap in corporate food and drink Achilleaze Apr 2017 #3

Hmm the article doesn't mention beer or my favorite; Topo Chico... flying_wahini Apr 2017 #4

I have been drinking an insane amount of Diet Coke for more than two decades FiveGoodMen Apr 2017 #5

Well an anecdote of one is absolutely proof positive mythology Apr 2017 #25

All of us diet coke addicts are in denial. mountain grammy Apr 2017 #31

Well, Sit Yourself Down RobinA Apr 2017 #46

If you're talking cannabis, I'm on board.. mountain grammy Apr 2017 #49

Or simply that anecdotal evidence of one example is irrelevant to science. LanternWaste Apr 2017 #55

It seems very strange that they keep referring to the "full-fat" drink alternative. pnwmom Apr 2017 #7

I noticed that too. It's annoying and ignorant. PoindexterOglethorpe Apr 2017 #33

Drink more water. If you drink enough before eating you'll also lose weight. brush Apr 2017 #39

Exactly. People frequently mistake thirst for hunger NickB79 Apr 2017 #65

YES! Sugary foods were advertised as "fat free" in the early days of the anti-fat hysteria anneboleyn Apr 2017 #54

Link to study: sl8 Apr 2017 #8

Thank you. NT Ilsa Apr 2017 #11

Study was longterm, going far back so Aspartame would be the most prevalent sweetener wishstar Apr 2017 #17

Artificial sweeteners are known MontanaMama Apr 2017 #9

"...cannot prove a causality." But this is science? Alrighty, then. WinkyDink Apr 2017 #10

The "full-fat equivalent" of fizzy drinks? Silent3 Apr 2017 #12

I know. Makes zero sense. NT Ilsa Apr 2017 #14

It doesn't make sense if you still buy into the "fat makes you fat" crap we were sold for decades. GoCubsGo Apr 2017 #21

there are good and bad carbs and good and bad fats, etc. ginnyinWI Apr 2017 #47

Yes, but there was a pervasive "all fat is bad" mentality for decades. GoCubsGo Apr 2017 #58

like isolated soy protein-- ginnyinWI Apr 2017 #59

whats wrong with soy protein? Mosby Apr 2017 #64

well my understanding is ginnyinWI Apr 2017 #66

ABC reported this study, as well. But... GoCubsGo Apr 2017 #13

+1...I wonder if they took out the predesposed uponit7771 Apr 2017 #18

Yeah, I don't know. GoCubsGo Apr 2017 #20

OTOH, they know that Aspartame can have neurological effects. pnwmom Apr 2017 #34

If I remember my old research...it interferes with brain synapse firing Lucinda Apr 2017 #15

let's send trump cases and cases and cases of diet coke spanone Apr 2017 #16

I'm sure big pharma will come up with an expensive solution to the problem. Vinca Apr 2017 #22

I think the general lesson of all those is that artificial is not as good as natural... Rollo Apr 2017 #29

Well, I'm fucked AnnieBW Apr 2017 #23

I've said from the time I was 9 you had to have dementia... Shandris Apr 2017 #24

Oh great. I drink Diet Mountain Dew by the gallons. democratisphere Apr 2017 #26

What's a website? (gulp, gulp, gulp.) InAbLuEsTaTe Apr 2017 #41

Just got a soda stream. I can use veggie smoothie to flavour instead applegrove Apr 2017 #27

I don't drink soda because of other reasons. ginnyinWI Apr 2017 #28

Not to mention brominated vegetable oils... Rollo Apr 2017 #30

What about the decaf version of regular Coke? Elwood P Dowd Apr 2017 #32

Caffeine is just an additive Cal Carpenter Apr 2017 #50

I keep on being stunned at the large amounts PoindexterOglethorpe Apr 2017 #35

yeah and it's hard to get anything to drink in a restaurant that's healthy ginnyinWI Apr 2017 #48

There's almost always beer or wine PoindexterOglethorpe Apr 2017 #61

9 out of 10 convicts in jail smoke. Therefore, smoking causes crime! X_Digger Apr 2017 #36

Have you checked out Volstagg Apr 2017 #40

What about fizzy lifting drinks? Orrex Apr 2017 #37

I guess I will have to go back to Madd Dog nt doc03 Apr 2017 #38

Don't forget. You are what you drink. democratisphere Apr 2017 #42

"The nature of the study means they cannot prove a causal link between diet drinks and dementia" oberliner Apr 2017 #43

I tasted diet pepsi once and never tried any diet drink again malaise Apr 2017 #44

You can live to be a hundred mac56 Apr 2017 #45

Well then I'm a bad person and going to hell get the red out Apr 2017 #51

The fact they give me a headache may have saved me. kcr Apr 2017 #52

Correlation is not Causation. mn9driver Apr 2017 #56

Yeah, I know. NT Ilsa Apr 2017 #57

You cannot trust what the mainstream media says about studies like this. alarimer Apr 2017 #60

Within the last year or so default Diet Pepsi is now sweetened with Splenda Tom Rinaldo Apr 2017 #62

A few snips from the Guardian's take on this FiveGoodMen Apr 2017 #63