Good Calories, Bad Calories (84 page)

“…why people get sick…”: Anon. 1961. The K ration: Sul ivan 2004. Biology of Human Starvation: Keys, Brozek, et al. 1950.

“frank to the point of bluntness…”: Blackburn n.d. “pretty ruthless” and “Mr. Congeniality”: Interview, David Kritchevsky. 16 Keys launched his crusade: Keys, Mickelsen, et al. 1950; Keys et al. 1956. Rittenberg and Schoenheimer: Rittenberg and Schoenheimer 1937. Researchers agreed: See, for instance, Quintao et al. 1971.

“a few questions…”: Hoffman 1979. “…members of the Rotary Club…” and “a similar picture”: Keys 1994.

“fatty diet…”: Keys 1994. “Direct evidence…”: Keys 1952.

Keys’s chain of observations: Keys 1994.

1950 report from Sweden: Malmros 1950. Similar phenomena: See Keys 1975. Keys concluded: Keys 1994. Skeptics observed: See, for instance, Mann 1957.

Keys argued the same proposition: Keys 1953. “remarkable relationship…”: Keys and Anderson 1955:189.

Researchers wouldn’t buy it: Yerushalmy and Hil eboe 1957. “magic method…”: Gould 1996:272.

“…not very profitable game”: Mann 1957.

“This causality…”: Ibid. 19 “uncritical y…” and “…worse than useless”: Yerushalmy and Hil eboe 1957.

Clinical y meaningless: See, for instance, Howel et al. 1997.

Keys insisted that al fat: A good example is Keys et al. 1955.

Vegetable oil vs. animal fats: Kinsel et al. 1952; Groen et al. 1952.

Keys eventual y accepted: Anderson, Keys, and Grande 1957.

This saturation factor: Kinsel et al. 1958; Ahrens, Insul , et al. 1957. “handicap to clear thinking”: Ahrens 1957. Fat content of beef, lard, and chicken fat: USDA n.d. 20 AHA opposed Keys: Page et al. 1957.

A new AHA report: AHA 1961. “acceptable compromise” and “some undue pussy-footing”: Anon. 1960.

Time cover story: Anon. 1961.

CHAPTER TWO:

THE INADEQUACY OF LESSER EVIDENCE

Epigraph. “Another reason…”: Friedman 1969:77.

“unmanageable proportions…”: Kaunitz 1977. “totality of data”: Stamler et al. 1972:45. “two strikingly polar attitudes…”: Blackburn 1975.

“It must stil be admitted…”: Dawber 1978. “overwhelming evidence…”: Dawber 1980:141.

“highest level”: Sackett 2002.

“final scientific proof”: Anthony Gotto in Select Committee 1977d:312.

Wall Street Journal reported: Bishop 1961.

“dotting the final i”: Anon. 1964b. 24 “The absence of final…”: Quoted in Blakeslee and Keys 1966:10.

Popper’s observations: Popper 1979 (“The method of science…,” 81; infinite wrong conjectures, 15).

“each new research…”: Keys 1957. Cholesterol and heart disease among Japanese men: Marmot et al. 1975.

Navajo Indians: Page et al. 1956. Irish immigrants: Trulson et al. 1964. African nomads: Mann et al. 1964. Swiss Alpine farmers: Gsel and Mayer 1962.

Benedictine and Trappist Monks: Groen et al. 1962. Explained away by Keys: Keys 1963; Keys 1975.

Mann examined the Masai: Mann et al. 1964. The Samburu had low cholesterol: Shaper 1962. “ful y as high…” and “It has been estimated…”: Keys 1963.

“feed-back mechanism…”: Keys 1975.

Mann’s further research: Mann et al. 1972. Masai moved into Nairobi: Day et al. 1976. “The peculiarities of those primitive nomads…”: Keys 1975.

“The data scarcely warrant…”: Keys 1975. Roseto study: Stout et al. 1964. “few conclusions…”: Keys 1966.

Framingham risk factors, “reasonably typical”: Dawber 1962.

Cholesterol and women, “no predictive value”: Kannel et al. 1971.

Framingham dietary research: Kannel and Gordon 1968 (“promised to be…” 2; “cautionary note…,” 15); interviews, George Mann and Tavia Gordon.

Puerto Rico study: Garcia-Palmieri et al. 1980. Honolulu: Yano et al. 1978; McGee et al. 1984. Chicago: Paul et al. 1963. Tecumseh: Nichols et al. 1976.

Evans County: Stulb et al. 1965. Israel: Kahn et al. 1969.

“The human understanding…”: Bacon 1994:58.

Western Electric study: Paul et al. 1963.

Stamler’s return to Western Electric: Shekel e et al. 1981.

“The new report…”: Cohn 1981. “The message of these findings…”: Brody 1981d. “The Cholesterol Facts”: LaRosa et al. 1990. Footnote. Trulson et al.

1964; Kushi et al. 1985.

Risks of changing the fats consumed: Ahrens 1979a.

Details of Seven Countries Study: Keys 1980. $200,000 support: Anon. 1961.

Results were first published: Keys 1970. Mortality rates: Keys 1980:65.

Three lessons: Keys 1980:332–35.

Finns vs. Cretans: Keys 1970:I–168. Keys’s diet books: Keys and Keys 1959; Keys and Keys 1975.

1984 report: Keys et al. 1984.

“seems to furnish…”: Pearl 1940:15.

“A common feature…”: Bailar 1980.

Hungarian trial: Korányi 1963. British trial: Research Committee 1965.

Anti-Coronary Club trial: Christakis, Rinzler, Archer, and Kraus 1966.

“Diet Linked…”: Plumb 1962. “Special Diet…”: Schmeck 1964. “urged the government…”: Anon. 1964a.

February report: Christakis, Rinzler, Archer, et al. 1966. November report: Ibid.

Dayton’s Hospital trial: Dayton et al. 1969.

Helsinki Study: Miettinen et al. 1972.

Proponents of Keys’s hypothesis: See, for instance, Steinberg 2005.

Minnesota Coronary Survey: Frantz et al. 1989; interview, Ivan Frantz, Jr. Footnote. Frantz et al. 1975.

For background on the HRT episode, see Kolata and Petersen 2002. WHI article on CVD: Manson et al. 2003. On breast cancer: Chlebowski et al.

2003. On stroke: Wassertheil-Smol er et al. 2003. On quality of life: Hays et al. 2003. For more information, see the WHI website at NHLBI (http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/whi/). Footnote. Hul ey et al. 1998.

“disastrous inadequacy…”: Sackett 2002.

1962 NHI grants: Baker et al. 1963. Ahrens’s NIH committee: Review Panel of the NHI 1969 (“The essential reason…,” 2). “would be so expensive…”: Interview, Pete Ahrens.

Task Force on Arteriosclerosis: USDHEW 1971 (“formidable” costs, I-21).

Two smal er trials: Ibid.: I-22.

CHAPTER THREE:

CREATION OF CONSENSUS

Epigraph. “In sciences…”: Bacon 1994:51.

Roots of this movement: Levenstein 1993:131–43, 178–94. See also Belasco 1989. “Vil aers in Dahomey…”: Anon. 1962. Famines in the 1960s and early 1970s: See, for instance, Devereux n.d. “hundreds of mil ions…”: Ehrlich 1968:11.

“enormous appetite…”: Mayer 1974a:395.

“world’s most essential commodity”: Grant 1974.

Argument made by Lappé: Lappé 1971:7–9. “A shopper’s decision…”: Belasco 1989:57.

“How do you get people…”: Cross 1974. AHA recommending meat restriction: See, for instance, Rensberger 1974; Blakeslee 1973.

“the battle to feed…”: Ehrlich 1968:11. Borlaug had created: Easterbrook 1997. “more than any other…”: Quoted in Hesser 2006:132.

AHA revised its recommendations: See, for instance, Brody 1973. “including infants…”: Inter-Society Commission for Heart Disease Resources 1970.

Manufacturers’ programs to educate doctors: Levine 1986:40 (“Listen to your heart,” 61). Revised version of Stamler’s book: Blakeslee and Stamler 1966.

Polyunsaturated fats can cause cancer: Pearce and Dayton 1971; Brody 1973.

Dietary Goals: Select Committee 1977a (“the first comprehensive…,” 1).

“Premature or not…”: Brody 1981a:11.

McGovern’s Committee and its history: Levenstein 1993; interviews, Mark Hegsted, Chris Hitt, Marshal Matz, George McGovern, Nick Motern, Kenneth Schlossberg, and Alan Stone.

“…total y naïve…”: Interview, Marshal Matz. McGovern and the Pritikin Center: Interview, George McGovern. Footnote. Broad 1979b. 46 Mottern’s experience: Interview, Nick Mottern.

Mottern, Hegsted, and their perspectives: Interviews, Nick Mottern and Mark Hegsted.

Goals number one and two: Select Committee 1977a:31, 37–42, 75.

Notably the AHA: Interview, Marshal Matz.

“The question to be asked…”: Select Committee 1977a:3. “al hel …”: Interview, Mark Hegsted.

Levy’s testimony: Select Committee 1977b:8–33. “Arguments for lowering…”: Levy and Ernst 1976.

Other prominent investigators: Select Committee 1977b. AMA letter: Select Committee 1977c:670–77.

Revised edition of Dietary Goals: Select Committee 1977b (avoid overweight, xxxiii; “decrease consumption of animal fat…,” xxxix). Pressure from the livestock industry: Interviews, Nick Mottern and George McGovern.

Attempts to justify recommendations: Select Committee 1977b (“some witnesses…,” “After further review…,” xxxiii; “important questions…,” and “Does lowering…,” xxxvii).

“strong, forceful, competent”: Burros 1977. “people were getting…” and “Tel us…”: Interview, Carol Foreman.

NAS/USDA contract and Leveil e’s speech: Broad 1979a. Handler and Fredrickson responses: Interview, Carol Foreman.

Forman hired Hegsted: Interviews, Mark Hegsted and Carol Foreman.

Report by a committee: Task Force Sponsored by the American Society for Clinical Nutrition 1979. “not to draw…,” “ful range…,” and “considerable”: Ahrens 1979b. “…clear majority…” and production of Dietary Guidelines: Interview, Mark Hegsted. (McGinnis did not respond to repeated requests for interviews.) Footnote. Glueck 1979:2642.

“Avoid Too Much…”: USDA and USDHEW 1980.

Toward Healthful Diets: Food and Nutrition Board NRC 1980. “excoriated in the press”: Interview, David Kritchevsky. The first criticisms: Altman 1980; Brody 1980. “…in the pocket…”: Interview, Jane Brody. See also Wade 1980. Details of industry connections: Broad 1980; Handler 1980. Leaked to the press: Risser 1980; interviews, Carol Foreman and James Risser. “embraced a low-fat diet…”: Baum 1995.

House subcommittee hearings: Wade 1980.

Handler testified: Handler 1980.

Nutritionists in academia: Levenstein 1993 (work closely, 134–35; “unholy al iance,” 188).

Olson explained: Anon. 1980.

“To be a dissenter…”: Mann 1977. “…as big a pusher…”: Interview, David Kritchevsky.

Jacobson’s exposé: Rosenthal et al. 1976. “The important question…”: Stare 1987. Stamler’s funding from manufacturers: Blakeslee and Stamler 1966:x.

Funded by Frito-Lay: Interview, Mark Hegsted.

Honolulu study: Yano et al. 1978. In Framingham and Puerto Rico: Gordon et al. 1981.

“reconciling [their] study findings…”: Gordon et al. 1981.

Stamler’s Chicago studies: Dyer et al. 1981. Dayton and others: Pearce and Dayton 1971. Swiss Red Cross: Nydegger and Butler 1970. Six ongoing studies: Rose et al. 1974. British, Hungarian, and Czech: Anon. 1978. Study after study: Beaglehole et al. 1980; Kark et al. 1980; Garcia-Palmieri et al.

1981; Mil er et al. 1981; Stemmermann et al. 1981; Kozarevic et al. 1981. Framingham Study: Wil iams et al. 1981. “surprise and chagrin”: Kolata 1981.

Footnote. McGee et al. 1985.

Norwegian study: Westlund and Nicolayson 1972. First NHLBI workshop: Feinleib 1981. Second workshop: Feinleib 1982. Levy’s comments: Kolata 1981.

Third workshop: Feinleib 1983. “the perplexing inconsistencies” and “not preclude…”: Feinleib 1983.

“throw the kitchen sink”: Interview, Stephen Hul y. Details of MRFIT: MRFIT Research Group 1982.

$115 mil ion: Kolata 1982.

“…Test Col apses”: Bishop 1982. Slightly more deaths: MRFIT Research Group 1982. Footnote. Shaten et al. 1997.

Details of LRC Trial: LRC Program 1979.

Results of the LRC trial: LRC Program 1984a; LRC Program 1984b. “conclusive…”: Quoted in Moore 1989:68 (see endnote 278).

“could and should…”: Consensus Conference 1985. “It is now indisputable…”: Anon. 1984a.

“unwarranted, unscientific…”: Quoted in Wal is 1984. “unconscionable…”: Quoted in Kolata 1985.

Rifkind later explained: Interview, Basil Rifkind.

“a massive health campaign”: Levy’s testimony in Select Committee 1977d:19. “Sorry, It’s True…”: Anon 1984a. Time fol ow-up story, including Gotto’s quote: Wal is 1984.

December consensus conference: Anon. 1984b; Ahrens 1985; Oliver 1985; interviews, Pete Ahrens, David Kritchevsky, Robert Olson, Basil Rifkind, and Daniel Steinberg. “Many people…”: Quoted in Kolata 1985.

“were selected to include…”: Oliver 1985. “no doubt…”: Consensus Conference 1985. “you wouldn’t have…”: Interview, Daniel Steinberg.

CHAPTER FOUR:

THE GREATER GOOD

Epigraph. “In reality…”: Arthus 1943:15.

NCEP 1987 guidelines: Anon. 1988. “The edict…”: Thompson and Squires 1987. Nutrition and Health: USDHHS 1988 (two-thirds of 2. 1 mil ion deaths, 4). “exhorts Americans…”: Toufexis 1988. “disproportionate consumption…”: Koop 1988:iii. “The depth…”: Koop 1988: iii–iv. Diet and Health: NRC 1989

(“Highest priority,” 13).

Writers of the surgeon general’s report: Interviews, Marion Nestle, managing editor of the report, and Nancy Ernst of NHLBI. Writers of the Diet and Health chapters: Interviews, Susma Palmer, program director at the NRC, and Henry Blackburn. Footnote. Interview, Henry McGil .

Jacobson scolding the authors: Sugarman 1989 (includes Motulsky quote); Burros 1989.

Hungarian study: Korányi 1963. British study: Research Committee 1965.

“…some indication…”: Ernst and Levy 1984. A new generation: See, for instance, Rovner 1988.

Cholesterol and sudden cardiac death: Kannel and Thomas 1982; Dawber 1980 (“The lack of association…,” 131). 63 Stamler’s MRFIT reanalysis: Stamler et al. 1986. Chart. Martin et al. 1986.

Whether we would live longer: Ibid. Chart. Ibid.

The Harvard study: Taylor et al. 1987.

UCSF study: Browner et al. 1991. McGil study: Grover et al. 1994.

“They would have liked…”: Interview, Marion Nestle. “I am sensitive…”: Letter from Browner to McGinnis, Feb 14, 1991. I am grateful to Warren Browner for sharing this correspondence with me.

“…smal or negligible…”: NRC 1989:6.

“The mass approach…”: Rose 1981.

“People wil not…”: Ibid. “The modern British diet…”: Quoted in Le Fanu 1999:307. Footnote. Interview, Wil iam Taylor.

Assumption underpinning mass prevention: Rose 1985 (“would lead us…,” 32; “differences between…,” 34).

Unintended side effects, “unnatural factors,” and “‘biological normality’…”: Rose 1981:1851.

“…no time for significant…”: Scrimshaw and Dietz 1995.