ReviewObesity (Silver Spring, Md.)2016
Common scientific and statistical errors in obesity research.
Review in Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.), 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 59 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
59 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Effects of high-intensity interval training on depressive and anxiety symptoms in healthy individuals: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials.Scandinavian journal of medicine & science in sports · 2024Pooled it
- Call to increase statistical collaboration in sports science, sport and exercise medicine and sports physiotherapy.British journal of sports medicine · 2021Pooled it
- No Evidence That Music Training Benefits Speech Perception in Hearing-Impaired Listeners: A Systematic Review.Trends in hearingPooled it
- The acute effect of passively assisted trunk stretching on central arterial stiffness and blood pressure in middle-aged to older adults.European journal of applied physiology · 2024Trial
- Trial
- Trial
- Claims of sex-dependent effects in the behavioral and brain sciences are infrequently supported by valid statistical comparisons.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026Article
- Evaluating the reproducibility and verifiability of nutrition research: a case study of studies assessing the relationship between potatoes and colorectal cancer.Nutrition & diabetes · 2026Review
- Contaminating the evidence: the reproducibility crisis and fraud in infectious disease research.Infection · 2026Article
- Statistical Methods in Aging Research: Improving Current Practices and Embracing Emerging Approaches.Annual review of statistics and its application · 2026Article
- The "sex-specific effect:" Evaluating analytical approaches to sex-dependence in the behavioral and brain sciences.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Evaluating the Reproducibility and Verifiability of Nutrition Research: A Case Study of Studies Assessing the Relationship Between Potatoes and Colorectal Cancer.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2024Article
- Comment on Marsigliante et al. Effects on Children's Physical and Mental Well-Being of a Physical-Activity-Based School Intervention Program: A Randomized Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- Best practices to promote rigor and reproducibility in the era of sex-inclusive research.eLife · 2023Article
- Causal models and causal modelling in obesity: foundations, methods and evidence.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2023Review
- Why and How to Account for Sex and Gender in Brain and Behavioral Research.The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience · 2023Article
- Considering Sex as a Variable at a Research University: Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices.Journal of women's health (2002) · 2023Article
- Incorrectly Labeled Randomized Study and Inappropriate Within-Group Comparisons in: "Effectiveness of Home Gardening in Improving Food Security and Health in Chacraseca, Nicaragua: A Pilot Study".Journal of health care for the poor and underserved · 2023Article
- From Model Organisms to Humans, the Opportunity for More Rigor in Methodologic and Statistical Analysis, Design, and Interpretation of Aging and Senescence Research.The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences · 2022Review
- Evaluating the association between obesity and discharge functional status after pediatric injury.Journal of pediatric surgery · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
- Commented on by
Authors and funding
17 authors.
Funding
Abstract
This review identifies 10 common errors and problems in the statistical analysis, design, interpretation, and reporting of obesity research and discuss how they can be avoided. The 10 topics are: 1) misinterpretation of statistical significance, 2) inappropriate testing against baseline values, 3) excessive and undisclosed multiple testing and "P-value hacking," 4) mishandling of clustering in cluster randomized trials, 5) misconceptions about nonparametric tests, 6) mishandling of missing data, 7) miscalculation of effect sizes, 8) ignoring regression to the mean, 9) ignoring confirmation bias, and 10) insufficient statistical reporting. It is hoped that discussion of these errors can improve the quality of obesity research by helping researchers to implement proper statistical practice and to know when to seek the help of a statistician.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.