Controversial ‘fit and fat’ paper suspended

According to BikeBiz, the paper recently published by the British Journal of Sports Medicine which received widespread mainstream media coverage and could have been viewed as playing down the role exercise plays in weight loss, has been suspended.

Retractionwatch, which tracks the reception of and adjustments to papers once they’ve been published, received a statement from Fiona Godlee, editor of the British Medical Journal which publishes the British Journal of Sports Medicine, who said that: “The article was taken down temporarily, mainly to address concerns about some undeclared conflicts of interest.”

Those conflicts of interest are claimed to include lead author Dr Aseem Malhotra’s links to dietary pressure group Action on Sugar, and co-author Stephen Phinney and Tim Noakes interests in paleo and low-carb advocacy. Oops.

Storm in a sugar bowl? Probably. Our completely unscientific, life-based advice is to eat enough veg to ward off scurvy, fuel your athletic endeavours with moderate amounts of cake and pie, drink enough water not to die, and keep riding your bike(s) lots. Then you’ll be first to the top of all the hills, just like us. Oh, hang on…