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. 2020 Feb 18;19(1):11.
doi: 10.1186/s12938-020-0753-z.

Data anomalies and apparent reporting errors in 'Randomized controlled trial testing weight loss and abdominal obesity outcomes of moxibustion'

Luis M Mestre  1 , Stephanie L Dickinson  2 , Lilian Golzarri-Arroyo  2 , Andrew W Brown  3 , David B Allison  4
Affiliations

Data anomalies and apparent reporting errors in 'Randomized controlled trial testing weight loss and abdominal obesity outcomes of moxibustion'

Luis M Mestre et al. Biomed Eng Online. .

Abstract

Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) are the best method to determine causal effects for treatments if they are well done and well reported. Good evidence about proposed treatments for obesity is needed, and Hsieh et al. (Biomed Eng Online 17:149, 2018) are to be commended for putting moxibustion to the test. However, careful evaluation of the paper reveals inconsistencies and apparent reporting errors, which raise doubts about conclusions from the study.

Keywords: Clinical trials; Moxibustion therapy; Randomization; Waist circumference; Waist-to-hip ratio; Weight reduction.

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Conflict of interest statement

In the last 12 months, Dr. Allison has received personal payments or promises for same from for-profit organizations including: Biofortis; California Walnut Commission; Fish & Richardson, P.C.; IKEA; Medpace; Gelesis; Law Offices of Ronald Marron; Sage Publishing; Tomasik, Kotin & Kasserman LLC; Nestle; WW (formerly Weight Watchers International, LLC). Dr. Allison has been an unpaid member of the International Life Sciences Institute North America Board of Trustees. In the last 12 months, Dr. Brown has received personal payments or paid travel from: American Society for Nutrition; Indiana University; Kentuckiana Health Collaborative; and Rippe Lifestyle Institute, Inc. Indiana University has received funds to support the work of these authors collectively from: Alliance for Potato Research and Education; Mead-Johnson; American Federation for Aging Research; Dairy Management, Inc.; Herbalife; Laura and John Arnold Foundation; NIH; National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, Oxford University Press; Sloan Foundation; and University of Alabama at Birmingham.

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