Conflict of Interest in Nutrition Research
There is a growing concern about bias and conflict of interest in the nutrition research landscape. Given the influence of systematic review and meta-analysis on nutrition policy, it has been suggested that industry sponsorship can undermine the integrity of nutrition research by investing heavily in studies that support their products and skew the systematic review process [1-3]. Out of 206 articles in a 2007 search, 111 declared financial sponsorship and the odds ratio of a favorable versus unfavorable result was 7.61 when comparing articles with all industry funding to no industry funding [2]. A systematic review of systematic reviews regarding the association between SSBs and weight gain found that those reviews with conflict of interest were five times more likely to present a conclusion of no positive association than those without [4]. A search of obesity-related arguments made by the food industry in major newspapers found suggestions that industry is “part of the solution” in 33% of the articles [5]. Other themes in the reframing of obesity included that government intervention is overreaching (25%), that products are not responsible (24%), that individuals are not responsible (15%), and that obesity is not a problem (3%) [5]. Not surprisingly, similar biases stemming from study sponsorship on the relationship between artificially sweetened beverages and weight have been found [6]. Dr. Marion Nestle has argued that corporate funding of food and nutrition research can seem more like marketing than science [7]. There exists an urgent need for improved disclosure practices and refined methods for evaluating studies used in systematic reviews. Given the obesity crisis and growing food addiction problem, reducing corporate sponsors from driving research agendas should be considered both a high public health and journal editorial board priority.
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- Katan, M.B., Does industry sponsorship undermine the integrity of nutrition research?PLoS Med, 2007. 4(1): p. e6.
- Lesser, L.I., et al., Relationship between funding source and conclusion among nutrition-related scientific articles.PLoS Med, 2007. 4(1).
- Lucas, M., Conflicts of interest in nutritional sciences: The forgotten bias in meta-analysis.World J Methodol, 2015. 5(4): p. 175-8.
- Bes-Rastrallo, M., et al., Financial conflict of interest and reporting bias regarding the association between sugar-sweetened beverages and weight gain: A systematic review of systematic reviews.PLoS Med, 2013. 10(12).
- Nixon, L., et al., “We’re Part of the Solution”: Evolution of the Food and Beverage Industry’s Framing of Obesity Concerns Between 2000 and 2012.Am J Public Health, 2015. 105(11): p. 2228-36.
- Mandrioli, D., C.E. Kearns, and L.A. Bero, Relationship between Research Outcomes and Risk of Bias, Study Sponsorship, and Author Financial Conflicts of Interest in Reviews of the Effects of Artificially Sweetened Beverages on Weight Outcomes: A Systematic Review of Reviews.PLoS One, 2016. 11(9): p. e0162198.
- Nestle, M., Corporate Funding of Food and Nutrition Research: Science or Marketing?JAMA Intern Med, 2016. 176(1): p. 13-4.
David Wiss
David became a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) in 2013 and founded Nutrition in Recovery, a group practice of RDNs specializing in the treatment of eating and substance use disorders. In 2017, David received the “Excellence in Practice” award at the national Food and Nutrition Conference and Expo. The California Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics awarded him the “Emerging Dietetic Leader Award” in 2020. He earned his PhD from UCLA’s Fielding School of Public Health in the Community Health Sciences department (with a minor in Health Psychology) by investigating the links between adverse childhood experiences and various mental health outcomes among socially disadvantaged men. His treatment philosophy is based on a biopsychosocial model which incorporates an understanding of biological mechanisms, psychological underpinnings, and contextual factors that integrate the social determinants of health. His website Wise Mind Nutrition offers a fully online interactive treatment program that will be available in the Summer of 2022.