New study examines how different fats affect fat cells. Reporters and scientists hide the data…

How Academics Use Inaccurate Data to Hide Correlations Between Seed Oils and Obesity
Table of Contents
- Seed Oils Correlate With Obesity More Powerfully Than Calories
- Using Inaccurate Data Can Obscure Important Correlations
- The Ministry of Nutrition: Where Vagueness Hides Truth
- Comparing the Two Types of Data
- The Narrative: We’re Eating More Calories, NOT More Seed Oils
- The Weak Correlation Between Calories and Weight Gain Between 2000 and 2020.
- Manufacturing Consensus by Controlling the Frame
- More DrCate.com Articles Covering Seed Oil Data Deceptions:
Seed Oils Correlate With Obesity More Powerfully Than Calories
Most nutrition experts believe that the majority of evidence shows seed oils are healthy. But that evidence is not sound. Academics leading the conversation create the mirage of evidence using flawed, self-reported dietary data that hides the correlation between seed oil and obesity.
While government agencies publish two types of food consumption data, most academic studies—and nearly all that get media coverage—rely on just one. The less reliable version: survey-based reports, where people try to remember what they ate. These data consistently underestimate calories and almost entirely miss the industrial oils hiding in processed foods.
Meanwhile, more objective data from the USDA—based on food supply and adjusted for waste—shows something very different: seed oil intake has exploded, and total calories haven’t gone up nearly as much as we’re told.
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So why don’t most researchers use that better data? Other than conflicts of interest, I can’t think of any reason.
Using Inaccurate Data Can Obscure Important Correlations
When it comes to defending seed oils as healthy, the media and academic researchers tend to focus on just one type of dataset: self-reported dietary intake. But self-reported data is notoriously unreliable. People forget what they ate. They underestimate portion sizes. And there is simply no easy way to gauge the amount of oil hiding in processed foods, fast foods, or restaurant meals. Even the CDC and USDA acknowledge that these surveys underestimate calorie intake by hundreds of calories per day.
In contrast, the USDA also publishes loss-adjusted food availability data, which tracks the national food supply—what’s produced or imported, minus waste. It gives a more accurate picture of what Americans are actually eating, especially when it comes to processed ingredients.
And here’s the kicker: this more accurate dataset shows that seed oil intake is far higher than self-reported surveys suggest—but it’s almost never cited by academic studies or news reports.
The Ministry of Nutrition: Where Vagueness Hides Truth
Even when the dramatic rise in seed oil consumption is published in official data, vague terms like “discretionary oils” make it harder to notice. In the USDA’s 2023 report Dietary Quality by Food Source and Demographics in the United States, 1977–2018, discretionary oil intake rose from 8 grams per day in 1977 to 29 grams per day in 2017–18.
But nowhere does the report define what counts as “discretionary oil.” Of course, it has to refer to plant oils, since animal fats are not oils.
My point is, this kind of strategic vagueness allows academics to publish articles that obscure the truth instead of revealing it.
Comparing the Two Types of Data
Let’s look at the 2010 numbers side by side:
Data Type | TOTAL Calories per Day | Calories from Oils per Day |
---|---|---|
Self-Reported Data | 2,093 kcal | 193 kcal |
Loss-Adjusted Data | 2,481 kcal | 518 kcal |
Source links:
- Dietary Quality by Food Source and Demographics in the United States, 1977–2018, Table 6b.
That’s a 400-calorie discrepancy in total intake—and a 2x difference in oil consumption. No one seems to be bothered by the fact that researchers so often use less accurate self-reported data in studies that supposedly show seed oils have health benefits. I’ve exposed one example here. And there are many more.
Why is this allowed? It hides the truth of seed oil’s harms behind an industry-friendly narrative.
The Narrative: We’re Eating More Calories, NOT More Seed Oils
According to the USDA summary findings, we eat more calories now than we did before, and that’s why we’re getting fatter. But let’s look at the timeframes in question. That particular report compared calorie intakes between 1977 and 2018, which saw a 15% rise. In that timeframe, obesity rates also increased significantly–from 15% to 40%.
But according to research I published in Frontiers in Nutrition, our seed oil consumption went up roughly 280% between 1977 and 2018. That simple fact is rarely ever revealed in published research.
The Weak Correlation Between Calories and Weight Gain Between 2000 and 2020.
When discussing obesity and calorie data, the correlation is taken as causation–even though it’s pretty weak. When discussing seed oil data, the more powerful correlation gets dismissed as a coincidence.
I published this image in my book Dark Calories.

Manufacturing Consensus by Controlling the Frame
This isn’t just about cherry-picked numbers. It’s about manufacturing consensus—creating the illusion that there’s no debate, no dissent, and no problem.
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Contradictory data? Ignored.
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Vague terms? Left undefined.
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Better data? Excluded from the discussion.
As long as academics continue to rely on flawed self-reports—and the media keeps repeating those claims—the real story stays hidden:
Seed oil consumption is dangerously high.
The healthiest fats have been wrongly demonized.
And most of the public still has no idea.
More DrCate.com Articles Covering Seed Oil Data Deceptions:
How Scientists and Dishonest Media Bury The Truth About Seed Oil Harms
Did Leading Nutrition Experts Knowingly Use Fatally Skewed Data?
4 Videos Explaining How Vegetable Seed Oils Rob Our Energy and Cause Inflammation
And a nice article by Zoe Harcombe on the recent JAMA study supposedly showing seed oils are healthier than butter.
Dr. Cate
With over two decades of clinical experience and expertise in genetic and biochemical research, Dr. Cate can help you to reverse metabolic disease and reshape your body.
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