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I think that individual genetics and behaviors are very important for these kind of health studies. Some things are quite clear and apply to all humans. For exa

I think that individual genetics and behaviors are very important for these kind of health studies. Some things are quite clear and apply to all humans. For example: you need vitamin C in your diet or you will get scurvy. Then less general rules that might not apply to you given your genetics and behavior. Vitamin D supplements? Maybe, but probably won't hurt. Drinking Milk? Very variable on its benefits and costs to different people. Down to things that some people should do and others should not do depending on genetics and behavior (most studies these days). Massive individual genetic testing and constant cellphone behavior monitoring might be able to produce decent studies in the future for your specific attributes, but for now advice from parents and grandparents may be the best you can do.

sgt101 9y ago
Why would cell phone data help?
- sgt101 9y ago
  Genuine question... answers?
  - njarboe 9y ago
    Most studies use self-reported behaviors for how people behave. More invasive studies (as some people have mentioned in this comment section) show that self reporting is inaccurate and, for example, people eat many more calories than they self report. If you have some system of automatic recording of behavior, which smart-phones might be able to do, and individual DNA results, then these large scale studies might be able to tease out what is healthy behavior for people with specific DNA.
    - sgt101 9y ago
      Thanks - is there any literature that you are aware of on this so I can get started?
      - njarboe 9y ago
        Googling "problems with self-reporting in diet studies" gives a good listing of scientific papers for me. Of course such a search is screaming out "confirmation bias", but it is still useful I think. This[1] is one study that seems to cover what I was talking about, although I have not read it in full. If you want to take a deep dive into a subject, search for a recent paper on the subject and as you read it the paper will reference other papers, especially in the introduction. Here is where you can find possibly a more relevant paper on the subject. Read that paper and repeat. Soon you will have a decent idea of what is going on in the field. Hard to do if you don't know the jargon and the mathematical methods though. [1]https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3025654/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3025654/

sgt101 9y ago

Why would cell phone data help?

sgt101 9y ago
Genuine question... answers?
- njarboe 9y ago
  Most studies use self-reported behaviors for how people behave. More invasive studies (as some people have mentioned in this comment section) show that self reporting is inaccurate and, for example, people eat many more calories than they self report. If you have some system of automatic recording of behavior, which smart-phones might be able to do, and individual DNA results, then these large scale studies might be able to tease out what is healthy behavior for people with specific DNA.
  - sgt101 9y ago
    Thanks - is there any literature that you are aware of on this so I can get started?
    - njarboe 9y ago
      Googling "problems with self-reporting in diet studies" gives a good listing of scientific papers for me. Of course such a search is screaming out "confirmation bias", but it is still useful I think. This[1] is one study that seems to cover what I was talking about, although I have not read it in full. If you want to take a deep dive into a subject, search for a recent paper on the subject and as you read it the paper will reference other papers, especially in the introduction. Here is where you can find possibly a more relevant paper on the subject. Read that paper and repeat. Soon you will have a decent idea of what is going on in the field. Hard to do if you don't know the jargon and the mathematical methods though. [1]https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3025654/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3025654/