Conflicts of interest
In 1975, just a few years prior to the publication of the 1977 Dietary Goals, Alexander R. Walker published a paper suggesting that sugar was not a cause of hypertension or heart disease. He cited three of his own studies supporting this idea; all three were apparently funded in part by the sugar industry. This cozy relationship has been a common theme throughout history, in which authors who have conflicts of interest with the sugar industry consistently suggest that sugar is not inherently harmful, whereas authors without conflicts of interest with the industry generally report the opposite.
--- I understand every word in this paragraph, but I'm not sure it makes sense to me. Those who have conflicts of interest say that sugar is not harmful and those who do not have this conflict say that it is harmful. I would say that those who have conflicts of interest should say that sugar is harmful and those who do not have conflicts of interest should say that it is not harmful. What do you think?
Top answer
"authors who have conflicts of interest with the sugar industry" is not the most felicitous phrasing in my opinion, but it is intended to mean authors who may have an in-built bias in favour of the sugar industry because their research has been paid for by the industry, or they work in the industry, or something like that.
- "authors who have conflicts of interest with the sugar industry" is not the most felicitous phrasing in my opinion, but it is intended to mean authors who may have an in-built bias in favour of the sugar industry because their research has been paid for by the industry, or they work in the industry, or something like that.
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"authors who have conflicts of interest with the sugar industry" is not the most felicitous phrasing in my opinion, but it is intended to mean authors who may have an in-built bias in favour of the sugar industry because their research has been paid for by the industry, or they work in the industry, or something like that.
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