Raspberry Ketone a Magic Bullet to Lose Weight?: Investigating Bias In Research Using A Dietary Supplement

 

Tomáš Helikar

Tested Studies in Laboratory Teaching, 2019, Volume 40

Abstract

Do you need to lose weight? Take this magic pill and see the fat burn away. Raspberry Ketone is being promoted as a weight loss and fat burning supplement that could solve all of your weight problems. This workshop will investigate this claim and how bias can influence results. Participants will view a portion of a TV show promoting raspberry ketone as the new weight loss wonder supplement. We will look for and discuss the biases in the show. We will then test the claim of reducing lipid content in fats cells by examining adipocytes differentiated from fibroblast cells exposed to raspberry ketone and compared to the control group. We will stain the cells for lipid content using Oil Red O and analyze the cell images using Image J. We will discuss how best to analyze our results and what potential issues we may not have thought about. A published article about raspberry ketone’s potential value in providing protection against fatty liver disease will be examined for bias and accuracy. Finally the group will decide how much those bottles of raspberry ketone pills are really worth.

Keywords:  developmental biology

The Ohio State University (2018)