Comments on: Pushing The Habit

By: diudiu

diudiu — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 06:33:30 +0000

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By: Evidence-biased

Evidence-biased — Sun, 15 Apr 2007 23:28:49 +0000

Whoops.

‘…even pointed readers to Bad Science while trying to help them see why this was pure hype’.

Everyone will of course recognise that ‘this’ was referring to the media coverage of Puri’s miracle pills – and not to the Bad Science website

(won’t they?)

By: Robert Carnegie

Robert Carnegie — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 20:01:44 +0000

-Is- there a “Mansfield College, Oxford”? Hmm. It appears that there is.

“and Founder Director of FAB Research … www.fabresearch.org/ ” – “Food And Behaviour” apparently.

By: Eric T Zipper

Eric T Zipper — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 12:46:58 +0000

BobP (post 16) – You have noted the collaboration between Prof Puri and Alex Richardson.
What a fishy story then from yesterdays Mail – All pupils should be given fish oil, says experts – by Sean Poulter:
“Health experts want compulsory fish oil supplements for all school children to improve their intelligence and behavious. British and U.S. experts told a Parliamentary inquiry yesterday the nation needs to massviely increse its consumption of the Omega-3 fatty acids found in fish”.
“Dr. Alex Richardson of Oxford University told the first hearing of the Inquiry on Diet and Behaviour, organised by the Parliamentary Forum on Food and Health, that the Government should start providing Omega-3 supplements in schools. She said a trail in Durham had shown they can reduce disruptive behaviour and improve learning.”
So now we have OXford academics reccomending unilateral supplementation to our children through a school feeting programme! One wonders where the data is coming from to support this?

By: Nickynockynoonoo

Nickynockynoonoo — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 23:27:06 +0000

Ben,

Weds has come and Weds has gone.

We’re waiting cha cha cha
We’re waiting cha cha cha
We’re waiting cha cha cha
We’re waiting cha cha cha
We’re waiting cha cha cha

By: stephenh

stephenh — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 13:37:05 +0000

Thanks for the pointer to Significance, Ben, it really *is* an ace read. I’ve just spent a few hours reading through the archive. Heartily recommended.

I particularly like Dr Fisher’s case notes.

By: wewillfixit

wewillfixit — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 08:47:25 +0000

Anything in the news about it today? I can’t find anything.

By: Ben Goldacre

Ben Goldacre — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 15:06:43 +0000

i believe the truth will out tomorrow.

By: ACH

ACH — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 14:46:48 +0000

www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/youandyours/items/01/2007_12_mon.shtml

An item on You & Yours yesterday. Not the whole story, I’m sure, but you can admire Dr Puri’s ability to back-pedal (or peddle ) with the statements his “representative” quotes from him!

By: LizardKing

LizardKing — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 14:13:32 +0000

#10 – With regard to PA, I used to work for them and can confirm that their science articles are mostly rewrites of press releases. Their coverage of political and legal affairs is pretty damned good, with some very experienced and dedicated editors, but they simply don’t have the qualified staff to vet science stories.

By: simongates

simongates — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 11:36:53 +0000

Do we know yet why the programme was pulled at the last minute?? Or rather, I know that some people know, so can they tell me yet?

By: Delster

Delster — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 11:29:09 +0000

so this guy Puri invents and patents this vegEPA stuff. Then when the media want a piece on it he does a, quite frankly, p*ss poor study for them.

Would it not have been better for him to provide the original research test findings which must surely, to get approvals, have been carried out in a much more controlled fashion?

Or is this another of those “supplements” that anybody can market without getting drug approvals?

By: CaptainKirkham

CaptainKirkham — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 10:33:33 +0000

As to rail safety – there is an argument out there that it is overall less safe to increase safety on the railways. Increased safety measures make rail fares go up, which pushes people onto the roads, where you are far more likely to be injured than on any train, with added safety features or not. Counter-intuitive, but sort of sensible.

Apologies for continuing the off-topic conversation.

By: j

Mon, 19 Mar 2007 23:36:43 +0000

interesting- one novelty with vegepa compared to other fish oils tabs is it also has added omega 6 fats. So you’re paying extra to ‘supplement’ your diet with something that most ‘normal’ diets in the UK contain too much of. Also, if you eat a load of junkfood (like the kids in the ‘study’) you’re likely to be eating even more omega 6 fats than most people.

By: stever

stever — Mon, 19 Mar 2007 21:46:47 +0000

hang on – I thought Ben was a pawn of the pharmaceutical companies. how come hes slagging the off?

By: BobP

BobP — Sat, 17 Mar 2007 18:16:15 +0000

Basant Puri is described on the Imperial website as either “visiting” or “honorary”. He has co-published a number of papers with Alex Richardson. Richardson was involved with the early Durham trials but has dissociated herself from devleopments over the last year or so.

Richardson AJ, Cyhlarova E, Puri BK. Clinical and biochemical fatty acid abnormalities in dyslexia, dyspraxia, and schizotypy: an overview. In Glen AIM, Peet M, Horrobin DF. (eds.) Phospholipid Spectrum Disorder in Psychiatry and Neurology. Carnforth: Marius Press; 2003: 477-90.

Puri BK and Richardson AJ. Long-term follow-up of a single patient with schizophrenia treated with ethyl-EPA alone. Phospholipid Spectrum Disorder in Psychiatry and Neurology. Carnforth: Marius Press; 2003: 377-89.

Puri BK and Richardson AJ. Magnetic resonance spectroscopy in the assessment of brain phospholipids metabolism in dyslexia. Phospholipid Spectrum Disorder in Psychiatry and Neurology. Carnforth: Marius Press; 2003: 501-8.

By: BobP

BobP — Sat, 17 Mar 2007 17:37:01 +0000

Ben – I didn’t get usual email alert of the last 2 blogs. If you’re hoping for leaked docs, make sure you ask loudly!
(mind you, big problems with my ISP talktalk at the moment. But the gas bill got through!)

By: Robert Carnegie

Robert Carnegie — Sat, 17 Mar 2007 17:04:32 +0000

And #6: Dominic Moore apparently is never heard of again, assuming he isn’t the violinist or the ice hockey player with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Can we make sure he hasn’t topped himself? Which would be bad news for makers of vegetarian fish vitamins. But anyway, he should have seen his doctor and got the pills that work. Your judgment is off when you’re depressed. The pills put you right. Would he feel less of a man if he was diabetic? (For all I know, he is.)

And #11: an argument is presented at www.guardian.co.uk/transport/Story/0,,2025671,00.html that railway safety culture currently is defective, still, since privatisation. On the other hand, one person died last month in a railway accident, and presumably several other people on the same day in cars – around 9 or 10, I think. Then again, the latest accident at Grayrigg was said to have had its impact reduced by the bravery of the driver staying at his post and by the greater safety of modern train carriage design. That’s not a matter of privatisation except insofar as private money paid for new rolling stock. If “rolling stock” is not one of those specific terms that laypeople never use correctly, just like “food chain”.

By: Robert Carnegie

Robert Carnegie — Sat, 17 Mar 2007 16:34:58 +0000

Jasper Carrott is with Celador, I think, or was. Who does “Hitler’s Holocaust”?

By: jackpt

jackpt — Sat, 17 Mar 2007 16:09:04 +0000

Hi ChrisR, that may very well be the case(I hope it is, I like good news) but the usual caveat of not taking it in isolation, because it’s just one paper. The model, data, and/or conclusions may or may not be disputed.

Generally the media portrays things in stark black and white terms. There has to be bad guys and good guys, and the stuff in between gets confused. So that’s as likely to apply to big capitalism as much as anything else. It’s always the case that if you want to be even half sure of your views it requires thinking critically about what the press says – as much so as the verbal spew that emanates from the politically motivated.