A widely-publicized British Journal of Sports Medicine editorial claiming that exercise alone cannot induce significant weight loss without dietary changes has been “temporarily removed” by the journal due to an “expression of concern.”
Retraction Watch first reported the temporary removal on Tuesday.
“The article was taken down temporarily, mainly to address concerns about some undeclared conflicts of interest,” editor of the British Medical Journal Fiona Godlee told Retraction Watch. “It will be reposted shortly.”
The editorial was first published in the journal’s May edition.
The editorial, written by a group of British cardiologists, claims that regular exercise alone is not an effective tool for weight loss. The article says that exercise needs to be paired with changes to diet for a person to lose weight.
The authors also rail against the rise of simple calorie counting, saying that not all calories are created equal. Calories from sugars can make a person hungry, while fat calories fill someone up.
The doctors also cite a study in the journal Nutrition claiming that the best way to combat obesity is by cutting carbohydrates from a diet.
Obesity is a major health problem worldwide. In 2014, more than 1.9 billion adults worldwide were considered overweight, with more than 600 million classified as obese, according to the World Health Organization.
The editorial compared the methods the food industry uses that claim that obesity is caused totally by lack of exercise to tactics used by tobacco companies when health problems caused by smoking were first revealed.
Britain’s Food and Drink Federation doesn’t agree with that comparison.