Just because a company makes a claim that its product works, or says a scientific study supports the claim, it doesn’t mean it’s necessarily true. Many new products or methods just don’t have any research to validate their effectiveness. And with many of these products, there is a great deal of literature that exists that plainly refutes their claims (like spot-reducing weight-loss devices).

Some large corporations have their own ‘research labs’ or pay private labs to run experiments for them to ‘test’ their products. But these studies usually have biases built in. Usually they will not disclose the methods of their study to the public or the scientific community.

Good science uses a philosophy of full disclosure which means that scientists document, and share the methods and data so that other researchers can attempt to replicate the experiment around the world in order to verify or find flaws in the methods and cast doubt on the findings. Through this process of repeated independent experimentation, methods are refined, theories honed and knowledge is gained.

Studies need to have a number of features that make them reliable and valid. The more of these features present, the more reliable and useful the results.

Scientific studies need to be controlled. That means that you should eliminate all (or as many as possible) factors that might sway the results one way or another. And one of the major concerns is the placebo effect, which can have enormous influences on the result. The common type of placebo most people know about is a sugar pill. A placebo will cause a person to expect a certain effect and can often convince themselves that they are feeling a change happening when there is no actual effect taking place.

Generally, bigger pills work better than smaller ones, needles work better than pills, and high-tech or computerized devices work better than low-tech devices. Use of scientific-sounding technical jargon (like quantum particle physics to describe quantum healing) is also a method commonly used. Some studies have shown the response to a placebo increased from 44 to 62 per cent when the experimenter gave them with “warmth, attention, and confidence”. While there has been some debate about using placebo’s to treat people if the desired result can be obtained, when researchers are trying to discover real operating physical mechanisms, especially in biology, placebo effects need to be eliminated.

Just think about how products are marketed on TV or in magazines – pay attention not just to what the speaker is saying, but how they say it. People who think a product work will tend to buy more often than those who do not. And if the goal is something that carries a high emotional component (weight loss, body image), then the potential for the placebo effect and buying desire can increase dramatically.

Most reputable studies are done by the many universities or institutions with a track-record of producing excellent research. The study should be published in a “peer-reviewed” journal.

Peer-reviewed means that other research scientists who are extremely familiar with the most rigorous research methods, and who may try to replicate the results of a particular study, get a chance to critique and publish their comments on studies that appear in these journals. This helps to hold studies to the highest level of scrutiny and usually will cause researchers to design their study to much higher standards anticipating negative criticism of unforeseen flaws in their study.

Popular magazines that sometimes carry health stories include Newsweek, Time and Oprah. But of course they can contain stories and opinions that sometimes have little or no scientific proof on topics ranging from UFO’s, crop circles, crystal healing, water dilution therapy, detoxification, aromatherapy, fad diets and fitness gadgets to quantum healing and many, many others.

The next time you hear about a study that was done, check into the source and the details of the study. The more startling and revelatory the claim, the higher the burden of proof, and the more sceptical you should naturally be. And your antennae should go up even more when the claim is asking for money, tugging at your heart-strings or playing an emotional card.

The proof is in the scientific pudding.

Kerry Senchyna holds a bachelor of science degree in kinesiology and is owner of West Coast Kinesiology in Maple Ridge

(westcoastkinesiology.com)