Tag: George Davey Smith

George Davey Smith challenges the findings of a new BMJ paper claiming that eating dark chocolate protects against Type 2 diabetes.

Xmas is supposed to be a time of goodwill, and medical journals like the BMJ print seasonal papers not intended to be taken too seriously. The topic of one of the latest papers – chocolate – has been the topic of Xmas BMJ papers in the past, but it appears this is intended to be a serious paper; it is certainly not entertaining. The paper suggests that dark chocolate can protect against type 2 diabetes. At the risk of being a Grinch at Christmas, it has to be said that this is, frankly, a meaningless paper. Indeed it is surprising to see such a paper published in 2024 in a supposedly reputable journal. (more…)

Some things seem to be too good to be true.

The idea that life’s little pleasures – a glass of red wine, for example – might be good for us is seductive. Given that most public health advice is simultaneously common sense and mildly dispiriting – eat healthily, exercise, don’t smoke – the possibility that we don’t have to live like Spartans to live long and healthily lives is surely good news… But is that really the case?

In this blog post, first published on the Institute of Alcohol Studies blog, Professor Marcus Munafò and Professor George Davey Smith of MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit explain why confounding factors skew studies to suggest a small amount of alcohol might have health benefits, and how Mendelian randomization has debunked this common myth. (more…)