Last week, a health story broke in the mainstream media regarding trans fats. I normally wouldn’t discuss health topics on here, but the phrasing the media has been using has troubled me.
For example, the National Post, a Canadian national newspaper had this to say:
Traditionally people have been advised to reduce animal fats, but the biggest ever study has shown they do not increase the risk of stroke, heart disease or diabetes. However, trans fats, found in processed foods such as margarine, raise the risk of death by 34 per cent in less than a decade.
CBC, a Canadian television and radio outlet had this to say:
New research from McMaster University shows that trans fats are associated with greater risk of death and coronary heart disease, and should probably be avoided. . . . In other words, saturated fat is not associated with an increased risk of death, heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes.
The problem is in the phrase: risk of death. You see, the risk of death for everyone is 100%. Unless someone has discovered an immortality elixir, every human on the planet will die. No one has a greater or lesser risk of death, and you can’t raise or lower the risk of death by 34%.
What the reporters likely meant was something like “lower the life expectancy by 34%”.
It’s always important to make sure your message is clear. Sometimes, what you say may be confusing; other times, it may be just plain wrong.
