Another example of poor reporting of a poorly designed study. People will read this and come away thinking a vegetarian diet was shown to be less healthy. Yet the exact same study and data could have been written up as "People with health issues more likely to choose a vegetarian diet" which would invert the implied causal relationship.
Potential limitations of our results are due to the fact that the survey was based on cross-sectional data. Therefore, no statements can be made whether the poorer health in vegetarians in our study is caused by their dietary habit or if they consume this form of diet due to their poorer health status. We cannot state whether a causal relationship exists, but describe ascertained associations. Moreover, we cannot give any information regarding the long-term consequences of consuming a special diet nor concerning mortality rates.
Comments
Another example of poor reporting of a poorly designed study. People will read this and come away thinking a vegetarian diet was shown to be less healthy. Yet the exact same study and data could have been written up as "People with health issues more likely to choose a vegetarian diet" which would invert the implied causal relationship.
From the report:
Potential limitations of our results are due to the fact that the survey was based on cross-sectional data. Therefore, no statements can be made whether the poorer health in vegetarians in our study is caused by their dietary habit or if they consume this form of diet due to their poorer health status. We cannot state whether a causal relationship exists, but describe ascertained associations. Moreover, we cannot give any information regarding the long-term consequences of consuming a special diet nor concerning mortality rates.
How was the study poorly designed?