4 ms·

Randomized control trials are done all the time. They can and are done ethically. I don't know where you people are getting the idea that RCTs are unethical.

• nradov 5y ago
  Proper large scale, long term RCTs have almost never been done in the human nutrition field. In order to really get the "controlled" part of an RCT the researchers have to confine people somewhere that all of their food and beverage intake can be accurately counted. Obviously this is very expensive and researchers can't ethically confine people in controlled environments for years. At most those studies have been done with very small subject counts for a few months at a time: hardly sufficient to obtain reliable results. So as a practical matter most studies tend to rely on subject reported data, which is notoriously inaccurate. People forget to record little snacks, or don't weigh their portions, or lie about their behavior because they're ashamed.
  • serverholic 5y ago
    Where the did you get the idea that I'm suggesting we lock people away for years? Yes of course it's expensive which is why I said we should have larger scale studies with more test subjects funded by the government. Also, what does subject reported data have to do with RTCs? What are you even arguing about?
    • nradov 5y ago
      You're totally missing the point. If the study relies on subject reported data then there's no proper control regardless of number of subjects. More funding won't fix that quality problem.
      • serverholic 5y ago
        Why are you assuming this hypothetical study will rely on subject reported data?
        • nradov 5y ago
          What other method is there to gather nutritional data? The researchers either have to confine and monitor the subjects in a controlled environment, or leave them loose and rely on subject reported data. Maybe someday we'll have better technical solutions but for now those are the only practical options. If you have a better approach for study design then I'm sure nutrition researchers would love to hear it.
          • serverholic 5y ago
            You're making so many assumptions in your posts. Yes, to do a proper RCT you need to confine and monitor subjects in a controlled environment. YOU used the word "years" and nobody ever suggested a study that long. If you're implying that you need a study that long to gather meaningful results then that's just simply not true. Let me put this plainly, you can design RCTs that are: A) Safe for participants. B) Aren't too long. C) Don't rely on subject reported data. D) Still give meaningful results. These are not mutually exclusive and they are done all the time. These are gold-standard experiments in the nutrition field. Like you said, they are expensive to do and usually only have a small number of subjects. That's why I'm suggesting that wealthy governments should collaborate to fund massive-scale trials at maximum quality.
            • nradov 5y ago
              In the general case "B" and "D" are mutually exclusive. For the important questions in human nutrition like whether a diet high in saturated fat increases the risk of all cause mortality it takes many years for significant effects to appear.
              • serverholic 5y ago
                There are many useful things we have learned and can learn from shorter studies. Best of luck to you. I'm out.
          • kilotaras 5y ago
            Deliver food for the family to their door every morning? Yes, it is relatively expensive, but not prohibitively so.