Science Friction

It was one of the world's biggest nutrition trials. A study of thousands of people which found that following a Mediterranean diet could meaningfully reduce someone's risk of heart disease and stroke.

But as data detectives began to comb through the results of the trial, something wasn't quite adding up.

On Cooked this week, we're taking a look at what can go wrong when implementing a nutrition science trial at scale ... and what it means for one of the world's most popular diets.

Guests:

Dr John Carlisle

Anaesthetist, NHS, United Kingdom

Dr Gideon Meyerowitz-Katz

Epidemiologist, University of Wollongong

Dr Evangeline Mantzioris

Program Director, Nutrition and Food Sciences, University of South Australia

Credits:

• Presenter: Dr Emma Beckett
• Producer: Carl Smith
• Senior Producer: James Bullen
• Sound Engineer: Angie Grant

This story was made on the lands of the Gadigal, Wurundjeri, Jagera and Turrbal peoples.

More information:

The analysis of 168 randomised controlled trials to test data integrity - Anaesthesia, 2012.

Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease with a Mediterranean Diet - New England Journal of Medicine, 2013.

Data fabrication and other reasons for non-random sampling in 5087 randomised, controlled trials in anaesthetic and general medical journals - Anaesthesia, 2017.

Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease with a Mediterranean Diet Supplemented with Extra-Virgin Olive Oil or Nuts - New England Journal of Medicine, 2018.

Mediterranean‐style diet for the primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease - Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2019.

Translation of a Mediterranean-Style Diet into the Australian Dietary Guidelines: A Nutritional, Ecological and Environmental Perspective - Nutrients, 2019.

Adherence to a Mediterranean Diet is associated with physical and cognitive health: a cross-sectional analysis of community-dwelling older Australians - Frontiers in Public Health, 2022.

In conversation with John Carlisle: the silent hero shaping medical publication integrity - ENT and Audiology News, 2024.

That Huge Mediterranean Diet Study Was Flawed. But Was It Wrong? - NYT, 2018.

Errors Trigger Retraction Of Study On Mediterranean Diet's Heart Benefits - NPR, 2018.

How the Biggest Fabricator in Science Got Caught - Nautilus, 2015.

Statistical vigilantes: the war on scientific fraud - The Guardian, Science Weekly Podcast, 2017.