Fast Food Causes Depression?
Timothy Birdnow
In the Progressive war on the cow, they have tried many tactics; cow flatulence causing Global Warming, obesity, etc. Now they are trying to link eating fast food with depression.
http://www.world-science.net/othernews/120402_fastfood.htm
The World Science article opens with these words:
"A new study sup ports past re search ty ing fast food con sump tion to a great er risk of de pres sion.
Pub lished in the re search jour nal Pub lic Health Nu tri tion, the re sults in di cate that fre quent con sumers of fast food are 51 per cent more likely to de vel op de pres sion than those who eat lit tle or none of it. And “the more fast food you con sume, the great er the risk of de pres sion,” said Al mu dena Sán chez-Villegas of the Uni vers ity of Las Pal mas de Gran Ca naria in Spain, the stu dy’s lead au thor."
End excerpt.
This study, and the coverage being given to it, impugne the food itself. Yet the article goes on to make the obvious objection:
"The study included 8,964 participants that had never been diagnosed with depression or taken antidepressants. They were assessed for an average of six months; during that time, 493 were diagnosed with depression or started to take antidepressants.
The research also found that participants who ate the most fast food and commercially baked goods were more likely to be single, less active and have poor dietary habits, which included eating less fruit, nuts, fish, vegetables and olive oil. Smoking and working more than 45 hours per week were other prevalent characteristics."
End excerpt.
So, in other words, the people who would be prone to develop depression tended to eat more fast food and other "quick" foods. Gee, what a revelation! That lonely, overworked, strung-out people tend to "grab a bite" rather than cook themselves elaborate meals are becoming depressed is something we never would have thought could happen!
These types of studies are less than worthless; they are purely to promote a viewpoint or initiative.
To prove that assertion, the article concludes with a call to action against fast food:
"“Although more studies are necessary, the intake of this type of food should be controlled,” Sánchez-Villegas proposed. He cited its effects for both mental and physical health, including its established tendency to promote obesity and cardiovascular disease."
End excerpt.
I suppose it never occured to the researcher - or the writer of this atrocious pseudoscientific article - that perhaps it is the study itself that "caused" the depression? It seems to me that the participants were fine until they entered the study. After all, the participants had never been diagnosed with depression before joining the group. Perhaps we should control such studies, as they are a menace to the public health?
What is the motivation for participating in such a study? People will join it precisely because they are hoping to get some benefit - like free antidepressants. The point is, the happy fast food consumer will not be enticed to participate. And the participants know what the researchers are hoping to find. This is the equivalent of the opinion polls where the participants tell the pollsters what they want to hear. It is what is known as a self-fulfilling prophecy.
In point of fact, this is the purest pseudoscience. It's advocacy dressed in the garb of objectivity.
I've said it before; science is becoming a crock, an act of alchemy. The increasing politicization of science is causing the public to lose trust in research, and our scientific establishment is resembling more and more an arm of the Progressive establishment.
This is a prime example.
In the Progressive war on the cow, they have tried many tactics; cow flatulence causing Global Warming, obesity, etc. Now they are trying to link eating fast food with depression.
http://www.world-science.net/othernews/120402_fastfood.htm
The World Science article opens with these words:
"A new study sup ports past re search ty ing fast food con sump tion to a great er risk of de pres sion.
Pub lished in the re search jour nal Pub lic Health Nu tri tion, the re sults in di cate that fre quent con sumers of fast food are 51 per cent more likely to de vel op de pres sion than those who eat lit tle or none of it. And “the more fast food you con sume, the great er the risk of de pres sion,” said Al mu dena Sán chez-Villegas of the Uni vers ity of Las Pal mas de Gran Ca naria in Spain, the stu dy’s lead au thor."
End excerpt.
This study, and the coverage being given to it, impugne the food itself. Yet the article goes on to make the obvious objection:
"The study included 8,964 participants that had never been diagnosed with depression or taken antidepressants. They were assessed for an average of six months; during that time, 493 were diagnosed with depression or started to take antidepressants.
The research also found that participants who ate the most fast food and commercially baked goods were more likely to be single, less active and have poor dietary habits, which included eating less fruit, nuts, fish, vegetables and olive oil. Smoking and working more than 45 hours per week were other prevalent characteristics."
End excerpt.
So, in other words, the people who would be prone to develop depression tended to eat more fast food and other "quick" foods. Gee, what a revelation! That lonely, overworked, strung-out people tend to "grab a bite" rather than cook themselves elaborate meals are becoming depressed is something we never would have thought could happen!
These types of studies are less than worthless; they are purely to promote a viewpoint or initiative.
To prove that assertion, the article concludes with a call to action against fast food:
"“Although more studies are necessary, the intake of this type of food should be controlled,” Sánchez-Villegas proposed. He cited its effects for both mental and physical health, including its established tendency to promote obesity and cardiovascular disease."
End excerpt.
I suppose it never occured to the researcher - or the writer of this atrocious pseudoscientific article - that perhaps it is the study itself that "caused" the depression? It seems to me that the participants were fine until they entered the study. After all, the participants had never been diagnosed with depression before joining the group. Perhaps we should control such studies, as they are a menace to the public health?
What is the motivation for participating in such a study? People will join it precisely because they are hoping to get some benefit - like free antidepressants. The point is, the happy fast food consumer will not be enticed to participate. And the participants know what the researchers are hoping to find. This is the equivalent of the opinion polls where the participants tell the pollsters what they want to hear. It is what is known as a self-fulfilling prophecy.
In point of fact, this is the purest pseudoscience. It's advocacy dressed in the garb of objectivity.
I've said it before; science is becoming a crock, an act of alchemy. The increasing politicization of science is causing the public to lose trust in research, and our scientific establishment is resembling more and more an arm of the Progressive establishment.
This is a prime example.
posted by Timothy Birdnow | 6:04 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home