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Nutrition Professionals Are Obligated to Follow Ethical Guidelines when Conducting Industry-Funded Research

2011; Elsevier BV; Volume: 111; Issue: 12 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/j.jada.2011.10.014

1878-3570

Theresa A. Nicklas, Wahida Karmally, Carol E. O’Neil,

Health and Medical Research Impacts

The fiscal climate for research reflects the increasing difficulty in obtaining competitive government and foundation funds. Thus, nutrition professionals conducting research may need to work with industry. However, there is a growing concern about real or perceived conflicts of interest and the potential influence that industry funding may have on research findings and the integrity of the researchers. Scientists recently defined “white hat bias” to be “bias leading to distortion of research-based information in the service of what may be perceived as righteous ends” ( 1 Cope M.B. Allison D.B. White hat bias: Examples of its presence in obesity research and a call for renewed commitment to faithfulness in research reporting. Int J Obes. 2010; 34 (discussion 83): 84-88 Google Scholar , 2 Lesser L.I. Ebbeling C.B. Goozner M. Wypij D. Ludwig D.S. Relationship between funding source and conclusion among nutrition-related scientific articles. PLoS Med. 2007; 4: e5 Google Scholar , 3 Rowe S. Alexander N. Clydesdale F.M. Applebaum R. Atkinson S. Black R. Dwyer J. Hentges E. Higley N. Lefevre M. Lupton J. Miller S. Tancredi D. Weaver C. Woteki C. Wedral E. Funding food science and nutrition research: Financial conflicts and scientific integrity. Am J Clin Nutr. 2009; 89: 1285-1291 Google Scholar , 4 Rowe S. Alexander N. Clydesdale F. Applebaum R. Atkinson S. Black R. Dwyer J. Hentges E. Higley N. Lefevre M. Lupton J. Miller S. Tancredi D. Weaver C. Woteki C. Wedral E. The International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI) North America Conflict of Interest/Scientific Integrity Guiding Principles Working GroupFunding food science and nutrition research: Financial conflicts ands scientific integrity. J Am Diet Assoc. 2009; 109: 929-936 Google Scholar ). This can be interpreted to be bias resulting from industry funding ( 1 Cope M.B. Allison D.B. White hat bias: Examples of its presence in obesity research and a call for renewed commitment to faithfulness in research reporting. Int J Obes. 2010; 34 (discussion 83): 84-88 Google Scholar ). However, “white hat biases” can also exist in opposition to the interests of industry. To begin an important dialogue among nutrition professionals, this Ethics in Action column presents 10 guidelines that can be used to preserve the integrity and credibility of food and nutrition science to benefit public health. These guidelines can be used to reduce bias from industry-funded nutrition research and to safeguard the integrity of research and the scientists in dietetics. Nutrition research, clinical and applied, needs to continue to be regarded as a science of truth.