Misinformation in nutrition through the case of coconut oil: An online before-and-after study.

Ana C Duarte, Bernardo Frison Spiazzi, Eduarda Nunes Merello, Carmen Raya Amazarray, Laura Sulzbach de Andrade, Mariana P Socal, Antonio J Trujillo, Elisa Brietzke, Verônica Colpani, Fernando Gerchman

Journal: Nutrition, metabolism, and cardiovascular diseases : NMCD 2022;32(6):1375-1384

PMID: 35282978

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Abstract

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Despite recent scientific evidence indicating absence of cardiometabolic benefit resulting from coconut oil intake, its consumption has increased in recent years, which can be attributed to a promotion of its use on social networks. We evaluated the patterns, reasons and beliefs related to coconut oil consumption and its perceived benefits in an online survey of a population in southern Brazil.

METHODS AND RESULTS

We conducted a before-and-after study using an 11-item online questionnaire that evaluated coconut oil consumption. In the same survey, participants who consumed coconut oil received an intervention to increase literacy about the health effects of coconut oil intake. We obtained 3160 valid responses. Among participants who consumed coconut oil (59.1%), 82.5% considered it healthy and 65.4% used it at least once a month. 81.2% coconut oil consumers did not observe any health improvements. After being exposed to the conclusions of a meta-analysis showing that coconut oil does not show superior health benefits when compared to other oils and fats, 73.5% of those who considered coconut oil healthy did not change their opinion. Among individuals who did not consume coconut oil, 47.6% considered it expensive and 11.6% deemed it unhealthy.

CONCLUSIONS

Coconut oil consumption is motivated by the responders' own beliefs in its supposed health benefits, despite what scientific research demonstrates. This highlights the difficulty in deconstructing inappropriate concepts of healthy diets that are disseminated in society.

Copyright © 2022 The Italian Diabetes Society, the Italian Society for the Study of Atherosclerosis, the Italian Society of Human Nutrition and the Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery, Federico II University. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Address: Post-graduate Program in Medical Sciences: Endocrinology, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil.; Post-graduate Program in Medical Sciences: Endocrinology, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil; Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Faculdade de Medicina, Departamento de Medicina Interna, Porto Alegre, Brazil.; Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Faculdade de Medicina, Departamento de Medicina Interna, Porto Alegre, Brazil.; Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, United States.; Department of Psychiatry, Adult Division, Kingston General Hospital, Kingston, ON, Canada; Kingston General Hospital, Kingston Health Science Centre, Kingston, ON, Canada.; Post-graduate Program in Medical Sciences: Endocrinology, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil; Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Faculdade de Medicina, Departamento de Medicina Interna, Porto Alegre, Brazil; Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre, Brazil. Electronic address: [email protected].

DOI: 10.1016/j.numecd.2022.02.002

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MeSH Terms: Coconut Oil, Communication, Diet, Healthy, Dietary Fats, Humans, Nutritional Status, Plant Oils