The lead researcher for a new medical study is under fire for comments and conclusions he drew from his study.
Professor Roy Taylor of Newcastle University presented data from his experiment at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes' annual conference.
There he explained his findings and summed his advice to avoid diabetes:
"As a rule of thumb, your waist size should be the same now as when you were 21."
This recommendation was met with harsh criticism.
Bloody stupid remarks. I weighed about 9 .5 stone at 21 and was definitely underweight. This sort of generalisation is why people develop eating disorders and is irresponsible in the extreme.— kev (@kev) 1632831764
I can\u2019t even begin to criticize this \u201cstudy\u201d without completely losing it!\n\nAs someone who had severe eating disorders at 21, there is zero chance I would fit into my jeans from back then without going back to unhealthy (and destructive) eating habitshttps://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/sep/27/people-who-cant-fit-into-jeans-they-wore-aged-21-risk-developing-diabetes\u00a0\u2026— Ghadeer A. (@Ghadeer A.) 1632800730
The real story is \n\u201cStudy shows people with normal BMI can achieve remission of type 2 diabetes by losing 10-15% weight\u201d, which is *very different* to the jeans quote.https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/sep/27/people-who-cant-fit-into-jeans-they-wore-aged-21-risk-developing-diabetes\u00a0\u2026— George Eaton (@George Eaton) 1632854936
This year's six French fries study:https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/sep/27/people-who-cant-fit-into-jeans-they-wore-aged-21-risk-developing-diabetes\u00a0\u2026— Matt Haber (@Matt Haber) 1632838572
Taylor's study followed twelve people with type 2 diabetes and a "normal" body mass index (BMI), an average of 24.5 for all participants. From there, they were placed on a strict, low-calorie diet for two weeks, consuming only 800 calories per day.
They continued this program for up to three rounds, until they lost 10 to 15% of their body weight. After which it was found that 8 of the 12 participants had their diabetes go into remission, with their blood sugar under control without any medication.
Taylor said that the results, while preliminary, show that diabetes can be fought by losing weight, even if you aren't overweight.
Issues with the study aside, the rule of thumb that Taylor came up with has its own bag of worms that people took issue with.
Especially if you're someone who has given birth.
I see no one has told them about what happens to the human pelvis after giving birthhttps://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/sep/27/people-who-cant-fit-into-jeans-they-wore-aged-21-risk-developing-diabetes\u00a0\u2026— Amber Sparks (@Amber Sparks) 1632794296
Nobody told Prof Roy Taylor about the menopause and how it changes the shape of women's bodies then? Or is this yet another medical study that only focuses on menhttps://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/sep/27/people-who-cant-fit-into-jeans-they-wore-aged-21-risk-developing-diabetes?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other\u00a0\u2026— Juliet (@Juliet) 1632811800
I'm guessing the author of this study hasn't given birth https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/sep/27/people-who-cant-fit-into-jeans-they-wore-aged-21-risk-developing-diabetes\u00a0\u2026— Penny Woods (@Penny Woods) 1632819843
Scaremongering study. Whether it's having babies, lower metabolism as you get older, menopause etc, it rarely happens for women. Or are they encouarging eating disorders??\n\nPeople who \u2018can\u2019t fit into jeans they wore aged 21\u2019 risk developing diabeteshttps://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/sep/27/people-who-cant-fit-into-jeans-they-wore-aged-21-risk-developing-diabetes\u00a0\u2026— Jo Hemmings \ud83d\udc99 (@Jo Hemmings \ud83d\udc99) 1632812621
Beyond that, there's the study itself.
In addition to this being a very preliminary study, it was only performed on 12 people. That is a very small sample size to draw conclusions to base your life around.
However, the results can lead to a large, more widespread test, along with peer review to determine if the results are reproducible.
Additionally, though Taylor's rule of thumb focuses on waist size by referring to a person's pants, the study talks of BMI, a controversial methodology to determine obesity. The history of BMI and better alternatives are widely discussed, yet it seems little effort is made to change the standard.
All said and done, many aren't convinced of the efficacy of this "rule."
What is the point of studies like this? Literally no one could (or should) maintain a diet like this over the long term. \n\nIt's irrelevant whether an intervention "works" if it's impossible to maintain. \nhttps://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/sep/27/people-who-cant-fit-into-jeans-they-wore-aged-21-risk-developing-diabetes\u00a0\u2026pic.twitter.com/IgIVaiRce5— Michael Hobbes (@Michael Hobbes) 1632820487
What is the point of studies like this? Literally no one could (or should) maintain a diet like this over the long term. \n\nIt's irrelevant whether an intervention "works" if it's impossible to maintain. \nhttps://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/sep/27/people-who-cant-fit-into-jeans-they-wore-aged-21-risk-developing-diabetes\u00a0\u2026pic.twitter.com/IgIVaiRce5— Michael Hobbes (@Michael Hobbes) 1632820487
Not only is this a bad study with far too small a sample size and this is an absurdly non-scientific statement - human skeletons are still growing at 21. You probably *shouldn\u2019t* still fit into those jeans.^\n\n^NB not that kind of doctor, &c.https://twitter.com/guardian/status/1442621261927141381\u00a0\u2026— Dr Amanda Dillon (@Dr Amanda Dillon) 1632866065
The laziness of this headline and the associated assumptions around it is staggering. This is a preliminary study and an old fashioned, biased opinion. And why are medical professionals still using an outdated metric like BMI?https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/sep/27/people-who-cant-fit-into-jeans-they-wore-aged-21-risk-developing-diabetes?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other\u00a0\u2026— Lesley Tucker (@Lesley Tucker) 1632816794
The actual idea present in the conclusion of the study, that losing 10-15% of your weight when you have type 2 diabetes, even if you're already considered average weight, may be the more important piece of the study here.
But it shouldn't just be blanket advice given to the population.
Having a conversation with your doctor is going to help more than listening to the interpretation of the conclusion of a preliminary study performed on 12 people engaging in an extreme diet.
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