Nutritional epidemiology: forest, trees and leaves.

Area of Science:

• Nutritional epidemiology
• Diet and disease research

Background:

• The field of nutritional epidemiology faces challenges, including confusion and implausible findings.
• A proposed reform involves analyzing the "totality for all nutritional factors measured".

Purpose of the Study:

• To contrast two distinct approaches for studying diet and disease.
• To evaluate the suitability of a "discovery" approach versus a traditional hypothesis-driven approach.

Main Methods:

• The "discovery" approach, similar to genomewide association studies (GWAS), utilizes large sample sizes and analyzes numerous independent dietary variables without prior knowledge.
• The traditional approach relies on hypothesis generation and testing, integrating all available evidence.

Main Results:

• The "discovery" approach isolates dietary components as independent variables, potentially overlooking interrelations.
• The traditional approach builds on existing knowledge and evidence to form and test hypotheses.

Conclusions:

• The commentary critically examines the strengths and weaknesses of both the "discovery" and traditional approaches in nutritional epidemiology.
• The suitability of each method for advancing our understanding of diet and disease is discussed.