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This is almost surely placebo effect

Given the amount of time wasted on diet/nutrition fads I'm starting to thing the US government should actually do some science on these issues.

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ya, the one where placebo (sugar pill) is documented to work in many times in lieu of actual narcotics.

"Tom Sanders, professor emeritus of nutrition and dietetics at King’s College London, said the study needed to be viewed “with some scepticism” because it was uncontrolled. It did not compare the children with a similar group who continued to eat a high-sugar diet. The comparison instead was made with their weight and health before the study while on their usual diet. “But it is well known that obese children underestimate and under-report food intake, particularly of soft drinks and snack foods,” said Sanders.

“This is a fundamental flaw in the study. It is likely that the changes in metabolic outcomes observed can be explained by the experimental diet providing fewer calories than the children’s usual intake.”

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