Fact checking the Huberman Lab podcast.

In this video, renowned low-carb fan Dr. Robert Lustig talks about a famous study.

Now I am going to be honest with you, I did not recognise this study.

Which surprised me, because I have read a lot of research papers on this topic.

But, I couldn’t think of any studies where the weight gain from the soda group even came close to the whopping 10kg (~22lbs) in a mere 6-month period and a 2kg (~4.4lb) weight gain in the diet soda group.

So I went to the show notes (yay, they included references) and lo and behold, the numbers are completely made up.

I mean, not even a TINY bit close to what the study actually said.

I find this worrying, because it would take approximately 20 seconds of reading the abstract (free to everyone) to realise that his representation of the study is not correct.

This is the research paper equivalent of someone not even bothering to read the opening sentence of a newspaper article. Sure, you know not everyone will read the WHOLE THING but you hope that anyone who has a strong opinion about that article at least skim read it, right?

Which makes me wonder, how much fact checking does your average podcast host do for their guest?

My guess? Not very much.

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References:
- Sucrose-sweetened beverages increase fat storage in the liver, muscle, and visceral fat depot: a 6-mo randomized intervention study
- Sugar-sweetened beverage consumption and weight gain in children and adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies and randomized controlled trials
- Sugar sweetened beverages intake and risk of obesity and cardiometabolic diseases in longitudinal studies: A systematic review and meta-analysis with 1.5 million individuals