Sweet result for Australian Paradox researchers

Following accusations of research misconduct, an inquiry into publications regarding the ‘Australian Paradox’ has found that two minor errors in the research do not constitute a breach of the Australian code of conduct for research.

Professor Jennie Brand-Miller from the University of Sydney and Dr Alan Barclay from the Glycemic Index Foundation are the authors of two papers published in the journal Nutrients that explore the ‘Australian Paradox’: the idea that, despite sugar intake decreasing in Australia between 1980 and 1999, obesity rates have continued to increase.

Complaints were made about the scientific integrity of the data, data analysis and interpretation, issues surrounding authorship of the 2011 paper and conflict of interest issues in relation to the authors.

An inquiry into the complaint was conducted by Professor Robert Clark AO, Chair of Energy Strategy and Policy at the University of New South Wales, Former Chief Defence Scientist of Australia and CEO of the Defence Science and Technology Organisation.

Professor Clark’s inquiry found that, of the seven allegations made against the researchers, the only allegation substantiated concerned two “simple arithmetic” errors - specifically an inconsistency and an incorrect calculation.

The inquiry found that the errors did not constitute a breach of the Australian code of conduct for research and that the researchers did not wilfully attempt to act deceptively or to misrepresent the science.

“This is a win for science and a loss for those who reject the scientific process,” Professor Brand-Miller and Dr Barclay said in a joint statement.

The researchers say they are preparing an updated paper on the Australian Paradox, specifically addressing the matters raised in the inquiry so that the misunderstandings of the original paper are avoided.

The researchers’ findings have been strongly criticised by former economist Rory Robertson who believes the figures regarding sugar intake are based on “unreliable” Australian Bureau of Statistics data.

The two papers in question are entitled: The Australian Paradox: A substantial decline in sugars intake over the same timeframe that overweight and obesity have increased (2011) and The Australian Paradox revisited (2012).