Professional experts have traditionally served as gatekeepers to, and interpreters of, medical knowledge. Over the last couple of decades, this asymmetry has been revolutionized by the Internet, networking peer groups and social media. This has lead to remarkable positive developments in citizen empowerment and critical questioning, but there is another side to the coin. In public discussion, evidence-based medicine is increasingly being challenged by emotion-based medicine. Lay testimonials of miracle cures and epoch-making diets as well as sheer quackery challenge the scientific approach. The fiercest opponents of the scientific establishment resemble religious fundamentalists. Experts who try to settle disputes and promote more balanced views are met with hate speech and ridicule, sometimes even resulting in their withdrawal from the public podium.
As a case example, the session concentrates on the recent years’ impassioned public discourse around nutrition and diets, especially the fashionable low-carbohydrate diets. The speakers will search for a balance between scientific knowledge, expert opinion and lay experience on the matters of nutrition and its effects on health and well-being. Who has the say about how people should live and eat to be healthy – and happy? The session is organised by the Finnish Association for Scholarly Publishers in cooperation with the Finnish Medical Society Duodecim.
PROGRAM
Moderator: Katja Valaskivi
Senior Research Fellow, Research Centre for Journalism, Media and Communication COMET,University of Tampere
Opening: Expertise in the digital age
Katja Valaskivi
Public discussion on nutrition – how to insult an expert
Mikael Fogelholm
Professor in Public Health Nutrition, University of Helsinki, Department of Food and Environmental Research
How does it feel to be called a murderer after expressing expert views on child nutrition in the public? Advocates of low-carbohydrate diets have been the core group attacking expert researchers with accusations that they are ignorant or corrupted. As a consequence, many experts have eventually refused to give any more interviews on the topic. What is the right approach for maintaining professional standards in such a situation – fight or flight or something in between?
Diet discussions in the social media – A dietician’s view
Reijo Laatikainen
Dietician, blogger
An experienced participant in social media debate analyzes the modes of thought and action of the popular international bloggers and the established research authorities concerning low-carbohydrate diets. Light will be shed on the role of the traditional media in the turmoil and a way forward will be suggested.
Responsible and responsive health journalism – the way to go
Ilpo Salonen
Science journalist
A responsible science journalist acts as a balanced and open-minded mediator between the scientific experts and the general public. It is important to give value to the experiences and preferences of individual laypersons while keeping the scientific worldview as a cornerstone. How to do this in the scoop-hunting media world, considering the public’s insatiable appetite for new sensations and amazing discoveries, and when the simple established facts of healthy nutrition seem dull? On the other hand, many scientific truths are not carved in stone: researchers must always be prepared to change their views as new research evidence emerges.
Moderator:
Katja Valaskivi
PhD, Senior Research Fellow (Docent), Research Centre for Journalism, Media and Communication COMET University of Tampere
The speaker specializes in research of promotional culture, usage and production of media and popular culture as well as media and religion. She has previously worked as the director for the Finnish Institute in Tokyo, Japan, and as the head of communications and media relations at the Tampere University of Technology. She has also worked as a journalist.
Speakers:
Mikael Fogelholm
Professor in Public Health Nutrition, University of Helsinki, Department of Food and Environmental Research
The main research interests of the speaker include diet, exercise, and obesity. Among other affiliations, he has served as the director of the UKK Institute for Health Promotion Research and as director of the Health Research Unit of the Academy of Finland. He is a member of several national and international scientific bodies for nutrition and health, and is the editor-in-chief of the journal Food and Nutrition Research. He is the author of more than 100 original publications and written or contributed to more than 20 textbooks.
Reijo Laatikainen
MSc (clinical nutrition), registered dietician, MBA, managing director
The speaker has occupied various marketing and sales positions in the life science sector including pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and medical nutritional products. Today, he works as a dietician at a private health care provider and as the managing director at BoostOn Ltd which has business operations within clinical nutrition and qualitative research.
Ilpo Salonen
Science journalist
The speaker is specialized in health and medical issues. He produces the magazine Terveydeksi (“For your good health”), which is read by 1.2 million people in Finland and is the country’s biggest health magazine. He has previously worked in the Finnish News Agency, the BBC World Service and Men’s Health magazine and as a freelancer based in London.
