Re: Teaching physics to biology students

Gregory L. Hansen wrote:

<...>

I haven't studied the literature to the extent that I can say whether I
independently agree or disagree with the author. But from what I have
studied it seems being too skinny is worse than being too fat, and in at
least one study the optimum weight for longevity is higher than you'd get
from the BMI. There was one study where they measured health indicators
before and after liposuction of some women and found no difference at all;

That hardly seems surprising, since liposuction removes the end-product
of a metabolic process which nurtured the production of fatty cells,
but obviously does nothing to alter the underlying process -- which may
continue to lay down deposits in arterial walls, for example. It would
never occur to me in the first place that liposuction were other than a
cosmetic procedure.

they speculated that the wrong fat was lost, or maybe the fat was lost in
the wrong way, but the possibility that it had nothing to do with fat
didn't seem to occur to the researchers (a notion that Campos accused the
industry of not just rejecting, but not even occuring to them in the first
place so that it could be rejected).

Some philosopher or other of science would have a holiday with that.

My brother has been wanting me to read a book in the same vein about
cholesterol which points out, for instance, the low rates of heart disease
among people like the Masai whose diets have the highest levels of
saturated fats.

Regarding what to make of data, the parapsychologists have tried testing
hypotheses in previously published data. One is that psychic abilities
will be highest at the beginning of a run when interest is higher, wane as
boredom sets in, and return as it nears completion. I think it's
legitimate looking for a pattern like that in data that was taken before
such an hypothesis had occured to the field in general, or in data that
was taken without the intention of testing it. Because filed away or not,
if null then we could expect equal numbers of right-side up and upside
down U's.

I think there must be a lot to learn from parapsychology because more than
any other field they've faced continuing criticism from people convinced
that there was nothing to study and intent on figuring out why they're
wrong. I can only imagine what would result if medical science were held
to the same standards that CSICOP holds the parapsychologists to.

Excellent point.

Another point, mentioned about medical research which is in the same
vein as routine data runs in physics: am I right in thinking that a
significant proportion of medical research is simply statistical
investigation? A carefully controlled statistical experiment may point
to the existence of an undisclosed mechanism. A loosely controlled one
may merely be suggestive, or may do more harm than good -- since the
"suggestion" will be taken as evidence by people prejudiced towards the
hypothesis.

.

Relevant Pages

  • What do they do with all the fat?
    ... Do My Knees Look Fat to You? ... Last August, she had liposuction on her lower back around her waistline, ... an increasing number of doctors are ... cosmetic doctors and patients are willing to take in the name of ...
    (rec.music.gdead)
  • Re: Teaching physics to biology students
    ... mentioned about medical research which is in the same ... Does that mean body fat causes it? ... except that losing weight involves changes in diet and exercise, ... health benefits even if no weight is lost. ...
    (sci.physics)
  • Re: If then...
    ... Liposuction is done to remove fat from specific parts of the body. ... We use the tumescent technique in which large amounts of dilute local ... So of course it's esthetic but it also removes fat and fat cells. ...
    (sci.med)
  • Re: If then...
    ... > Liposuction is done to remove fat from specific parts of the body. ... We use the tumescent technique in which large amounts of dilute local ... > So of course it's esthetic but it also removes fat and fat cells. ...
    (sci.med)
  • Re: Teaching physics to biology students
    ... You correctly identify the primary difficulty with medical research: our current state of knowledge of how the body works is poor, and so "coarse-grained" approaches to system control are bound to lead to inconclusive results. ... "fat intake" might seem to be a well-defined statement, but in fact it is not: what specific lipids are present in the fat, what other chemicals are present in the food along with the fat, what's the individual's current ability to digest the food, etc. etc. ... By the time the study was over, 2 years and 5 physician visits later, I think maybe 16 to 20 kids *total* were useable: the rest dropped out, didn't follow the medication protocol, did not go to the physician when scheduled, etc. etc. ... Was the study a total waste of time and money and effort? ...
    (sci.physics)