Australians are frequently inundated with nutrition articles seeking to expose fad diets, such as the high-fat ketogenic diet popularized in the 1970s by the late Dr Atkins

These articles, ostensibly published in the public interest, often reference scientific research as their foundation.

The problem is that these articles are often sensationalised and, in fact, not based on rigorous science. Their existence underscores a significant issue: universities worldwide, including in Australia, can propagate misinformation through a well-known back door that escapes critical scrutiny - the press release.

This issue became evident in a recent conversation with a health editor from one of Australia’s most widely read newspapers.

When asked why so many unscientific nutrition articles are published, the editor explained that most of these stories originate from the media releases of prominent universities, and ignoring them would be seen as hubris.

On the surface, this rationale seems reasonable. After all, universities should be bastions of scientific integrity.

However, university media departments often play a role in promoting misinformation.

While scientists who publish in academic journals must undergo a process of peer review, where their work is scrutinised for accuracy, media releases face no such rigorous oversight.

Peer review, while imperfect, aims to prevent the dissemination of incorrect or biased information. Consequently, most scientific papers avoid extreme biases of their authors. Press releases, on the other hand, are a different story; here, biases can shine through unchecked.

When these biased releases reach a broad audience, they can cause real harm.

Consider reporting by a number of media outlets last week of near-identical press releases from Monash and RMIT Universities claiming that low-carb diets cause diabetes. Monash University’s media department even declared, “Low-carb/high-fat diets for weight loss actually boost the risk of type 2 diabetes.”

This claim is utterly false.

Extensive reviews of the scientific literature, using the best available methodologies, have repeatedly demonstrated that low-carbohydrate, high-fat diets actually benefit patients with diabetes. The paper cited by the coverage was based on nutritional epidemiology, where unreliable food questionnaires are used to observe associations between diet and health outcomes.