![]() ![]() The study did show accelerated weight loss in the chocolate group-shouldn’t we trust it? Isn’t that how science works? The results are meaningless, and the health claims that the media blasted out to millions of people around the world are utterly unfounded. Which is to say: It was terrible science. It was, in fact, a fairly typical study for the field of diet research. And the statistically significant benefits of chocolate that we reported are based on the actual data. We ran an actual clinical trial, with subjects randomly assigned to different diet regimes. My colleagues and I recruited actual human subjects in Germany. Other than those fibs, the study was 100 percent authentic. The Institute of Diet and Health? That’s nothing more than a website. I do have a Ph.D., but it’s in the molecular biology of bacteria, not humans. Well, actually my name is John, and I’m a journalist. ![]() The Bild story quotes the study’s lead author, Johannes Bohannon, Ph.D., research director of the Institute of Diet and Health: “The best part is you can buy chocolate everywhere.” Not only does chocolate accelerate weight loss, the study found, but it leads to healthier cholesterol levels and overall increased well-being. It appeared in glossy print, most recently in the June issue of Shape magazine (“Why You Must Eat Chocolate Daily,” page 128). ![]() It was discussed on television news shows. From there, it ricocheted around the internet and beyond, making news in more than 20 countries and half a dozen languages. It made the front page of Bild, Europe’s largest daily newspaper, just beneath their update about the Germanwings crash. A team of German researchers had found that people on a low-carb diet lost weight 10 percent faster if they ate a chocolate bar every day. “Slim by Chocolate!” the headlines blared. I Fooled Millions Into Thinking Chocolate Helps Weight Loss. How easy is it to fool others with p-hacking? ![]()
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