Surprise! Industry-Funded Studies May Be Biased

Researchers have noticed something completely unsurprising: when the beverage industry supports research, the findings usually support health benefits of beverages.

The results come in a study in the new edition of PloS Medicine:

"We found when a food company pays for a study, the results are about eight times more likely to be favorable to the company's financial interest than when the studies are funded independently," [a researcher said]. "It is a strong association. It raises concern for bias."

It certainly seems reasonable that industry studies could be biased in general. But this research doesn't analyze the quality of the studies themselves, and that's all that matters. (And besides, doesn't it make sense that food industries aren't going to pay for a lot of studies that could potentially make them look bad?)

On nutritious drink studies, consider the source [HealthDay News]