Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Snake Oil

The folks at Information is Beautiful have assembled a nice dataset consisting of measurements of the effectiveness and popularity of 129 different dietary supplements.  The graph they produced is appropriately beautiful and interactive, although I don't find it particularly useful for addressing the main question -- is there some relationship between effectiveness and popularity?  That is, are people using the useful supplements or are they just popping snake oil?

I downloaded their data and produced the following scatterplot.  I've highlighted some of the key outliers.
Some interesting lessons: First, the relationship between effectiveness and popularity is positive and statistically significant at the .001 level.  That's encouraging!  But some of the outliers are rather interesting.  Vitamins A and C are apparently way overhyped.  St. John's Wort, which is reputedly useful for mild to moderate depression, is under-utilized, especially when you consider the size of the industry devoted to treating depression.  No one really uses anti-oxidants, and that's a good thing, it seems.  Green tea, folic acid, fish oil, and Vitamin D (my personal supplement of choice) are the real winners here.

(h/t Harris Masket)

6 comments:

Andrew Oh-Willeke said...

The evidence for effectiveness scale is pretty far off. This is a literature that I follow pretty closely in the scientific journals. Saint John's Wort should be near zero. Vitamin C is grossly underrated. Fish oil should be in the middle -- it is not at all effective for many of the benefits it is marketed for (e.g. dementia prevention) but does have positive anti-inflammatory aspects. Given that so many identified data points are wrong, I am sure that many other data points are wrong. The effectiveness scale is not based on any of the good meta-analysis papers conducts to date.

Also, the statistical significance is illusory and is coming mostly from lumping data in arbitrary categories that aren't closely scaled rather than treating them as individual points. And, in the scheme, any level of inclusiveness of powerfully influenced by selectivity in the data set.

packers and movers in hyderabad said...


Many packers and movers Hyderabad, Telangana may boast about offering a huge list of services with little to no skill or expertise to carry out those services as required. You need to check with every packer and mover if they have the experience to fulfil your specific requirements properly, and will complete your relocation in the most cost-effective way possible.
Movers and Packers in Kondapur
Movers and Packers in Gachibowli
Movers and Packers in Kukatpally
Movers and Packers in Chanda Nagar
Movers and Packers in Manikonda

packers and movers in hyderabad said...

Many packers and movers Hyderabad, Telangana may boast about offering a huge list of services with little to no skill or expertise to carry out those services as required. You need to check with every packer and mover if they have the experience to fulfil your specific requirements properly, and will complete your relocation in the most cost-effective way possible.
Packers and Movers in Kukatpally
Packers and Movers in Miyapur
Packers and Movers in Sainikpuri
Movers and Packers in Hyderabad
Movers and Packers in Jubilee Hills
Movers and Packers in Banjara Hills
Movers and Packers in Kondapur
Movers and Packers in Madhapur

packers and movers in hyderabad, movers and packers in hyderabad said...

Thanks for your stop at Indian Packers and Movers in Mumbai. We really know the intentions of the people who are moving their homes or offices in Mumbai. We are one of the best Packers And Movers in Mumbai that gives values to the suggestions and recommendations of the client.
Movers and Packers in Chembur
Movers and Packers in Jogeshwari
Movers and Packers in Kharghar
Movers and Packers in Dombivli

Packers and Movers in mumbai said...

Indian Packers and Movers in Mumbai is the best packing and moving company in Mumbai. Of course, the credit goes to our hardworking team in Mumbai and world class infrastructure. Customer satisfaction is a great asset for the company. We appreciate the feedback of our clients that ultimately help us to improve. Indian Packers and Movers in Mumbai have a long list of reputed clients who assign their projects to relocate.
Packers and Movers in Mumbai CST
Packers and Movers in Masjid
Movers and Packers in Mumbai
Packers and Movers in Sandhurst Road
Packers and Movers in Byculla
Packers and Movers in Chinchpokli
Packers and Movers in Currey Road

Chair Manufacturers in Mumbai said...

Every product that is manufactured by our company is ergonomically designed by experts to meet the requirements of offices and homes. Factors like durable, comfortable and require less space are always kept in mind. And this is the reason why we are able to earn good recognition in our domain.
Chair Manufacturers in Mumbai
Chair Supplier in Mumbai
Office Chair Supplier in Mumbai
Visitor Chair Supplier in Mumbai
Chair Dealers in Mumbai