As 2019 gallops towards the finish line, I’m bursting with news to share with you!
Back in September, I blogged about WW, who were using research published by the Fast Track team to justify their awful kiddie weight loss app. The Fast Trackers’ meta-analysis alleged that ‘expert led’ weight loss dieting in teens is safe and definitely doesn’t cause eating disorders, a particularly iffy claim, especially for anyone who:
a) has/had an eating disorder, or
b) works with people with eating disorders.
I was so mad about this that I wrote a Letter to the Editor of “Obesity Reviews”, discussing the numerous errors in the paper and questioning the Fast Trackers’ (once again) overly optimistic conclusions and guess what – it was published! I am so happy to know that the dodginess of this research – particularly the fact that so few of the included papers had long term data – has been exposed for other researchers to see. Maddeningly, the letter is behind a paywall (typical in this age of scientific elitism), so it’s not accessible unless you’re an academic or happy to pay to read it. But for an overview, it’s basically a 500 word version of my blog, which is of course 100% free!
The Fast Trackers have written a response to my Letter, and spoiler alert – they’re not backing down! In my next blog I’ll write a detailed account of their comeback, but for now, I’m just going to bask in the bliss of knowing that they have been publicly challenged. It’s wonderful to see that even weight biased scientific journals are taking note of the serious shortcomings in paediatric “O” research.
More Fast Track news: a few months ago, the researchers took aim at my website fasttracktrial.com.au. As some of you might know, I created this site as an information hub for parents and teens who might be being targeted to participate in the trial. The official Fast Track website has no risk information, and of course no details about the extent of the protest against such a restrictive and prolonged semi starvation experiment. I, and many others, strongly believe that in order to give proper informed consent, this information needed to be out there!! I am extremely proud of this website, and grateful to the huge group of volunteers who contributed their time, complaints, and stories to it.
The Fast Track team had their lawyers send me a series of nasty letters, demanding that I immediately take the site down, AND hand over the domain name!! They also told me to ‘keep quiet’ about what they were doing.
It’s been a stressful few months, and a LOT has happened (which I plan to tell you all about in my next blog), but just so you know – the story has a happy ending. Yes – I WON the legal challenge!! I am happy to report that fasttracktrial.com.au is MINE, and justice, the right to free speech and critical thinking has been upheld!
#Will Not be Silenced
I hope that you have the chance to take a break over the next few weeks, recharge, and most importantly, unplug. Diet culture is as usual turning up the pressure at this time of year, so make sure you keep your BS detector batteries charged!
Seasons Greetings & Remember
Winter is Coming for YOU, Diet Culture…
If you are needing some extra help over the holiday season, I can help! In between my regular rest breaks, I’m available for online appointments – just a click away! If you’re a health professional I also love to do online supervision, and my books are open for 2020, so send me an email at louise@untrapped.com.au and let’s get started!
