Join NYU Libraries for an insightful discussion with some of our most esteemed panelists about how the conversation, study, and action around food has evolved over the last two decades. Together, we’ll reflect on 20 years of the Critical Topics in Food event series and examine the role that thoughtful community gatherings like these have played in shaping our collective dialogue about food. The Critical Topics in Food event series is a partnership between NYU Special Collections, NYU Steinhardt Department of Nutrition & Food Studies, and Clark Wolf.
by Marion Nestle
Jul
25
2022
Industry-funded study of the week: more prunes
Several people sent me this one:
Prunes preserve hip bone mineral density in a 12-month randomized controlled trial in postmenopausal women: the Prune Study. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, nqac189, https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/nqac189
Conclusions: A 50g daily dose of prunes can prevent loss of total hip BMD [bone mineral density] in postmenopausal females after six months, which persisted for 12-months…we propose that the 50g dose represents a valuable non-pharmacological treatment strategy that can be used to preserve hip BMD in postmenopausal females and possibly reduce hip fracture risk
Sources of Support: California Prune Board (Award Number: 180215)
Acknowledgments: We thank the California Prune Board for the funding and prunes…The California Prune Board had no role in the data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of manuscript.in this study.
Comment: The California Prune Board did not have to have that kind of role to get the outcome it wanted. Research on funding effects shows that industry influence is exerted primarily in the ways the research question is framed and the results interpreted. It also shows that investigators hardly ever recognize how industry funding exerts influence.
Reference: Unsavory Truth: How Food Companies Skew the Science of What We Eat.