media misinformation and health

An intersting bit of information has just made its way into the media. Copenhagen University has published a study that suggests the use of certain vitamin supplements actually shorten a person's life. Not the sort of unhealthy thing you'd expect when you buy vitamins. However there's a big problem when it comes to the media reporting health. This is typical of the fromt page hyped up story the media love offering lots of short term interest but lacking in substance or serious discussion. The media are the greatest barrrier to successful health promotion because their cherry-picking approach gives a really distorted view of what constitutes a healthy lifestyle. For years there has been promotion of cutting fat and sugar in the diet but a total failure to address the needs for high calorie intake amongst those who are not doing sedentary jobs. Like I once hear said you cannot expect someone who does heavy manual labor to exist on lettuce, but that's exactly what you'd expect if you belive the unbalanced view in most of the media. Things go from bad to worse with the media's image of healthcare which according to them is provided only by doctors and nurses. Never mind the rest of us without whom modern healthcare would collapse overnight.