Making complaint be made to the BCI

jenny smith

Can a complaint be made to the BCI about Objectivity & Impartiality in relation to claims made by a nutritionist on radio show. The claims are often not true and they are not in any way challenged by the presenter. An example was that a certain food lowers cholesterol when there is no scientific evidence it does
Her claims are presented as fact as distinct from an opinion. A nutritionist has very little in the way of qualification

dxhound2005

You probably mean BAI. They are the people to contact to find out if you can make a complaint.

http://www.bai.ie/en/viewers-listeners/complaints/

coylemj

jenny smith wrote: »

Can a complaint be made to the BCI about Objectivity & Impartiality in relation to claims made by a nutritionist on radio show. The claims are often not true and they are not in any way challenged by the presenter. An example was that a certain food lowers cholesterol when there is no scientific evidence it does
Her claims are presented as fact as distinct from an opinion. A nutritionist has very little in the way of qualification

I can't see how that would come under the heading of 'Objectivity & Impartiality'.

Anything to do with cholesterol is within the ambit of medicine which is an inexact science so one man's opinion might be heresy to the next (wo)man.

ArthurG

coylemj wrote: »

..... medicine which is an inexact science .....

That's news to me.

Anything peer-reviewed to back that up with other than your opinion?

Losty Dublin

Jenny, you should contact the station first off to raise your objections about the show. If this doesn't offer you satisfaction then you may go to the BAI and lodge a formal complaint. Have a look on the BAI website at the broadcasters code and previous complaints to see under what category/s your complaint may fall under, if any, and how a complaint is dealt with and made.

Bear in mind that complaints can't be made anonymously and your details will be made in the public domain.

http://www.bai.ie/en/codes-standards/

Arbie

jenny smith wrote: »

Can a complaint be made to the BCI about Objectivity & Impartiality in relation to claims made by a nutritionist on radio show. The claims are often not true and they are not in any way challenged by the presenter. An example was that a certain food lowers cholesterol when there is no scientific evidence it does
Her claims are presented as fact as distinct from an opinion. A nutritionist has very little in the way of qualification

Fair play for challenging this. There is some very poor reporting on health and science which is exacerbated by self-professed experts with questionable CVs. Anyone in Ireland can legally call themselves a nutritionist without any qualifications, it's not a protected term, but unfortunately most people would presume that it's the same as a dietitian.

Which show was it? If you put up the link to it I'll have a listen and could also write to complain.

jenny smith

coylemj - medicine is not inexact. doctors may differ. nutritionist is not doctor

jenny smith

dxhound2005 wrote: »

You probably mean BAI.  They are the people to contact to find out if you can make a complaint.

http://www.bai.ie/en/viewers-listeners/complaints/

yes bai sorry

KReid

jenny smith wrote: »

Can a complaint be made to the BCI about Objectivity & Impartiality in relation to claims made by a nutritionist on radio show. The claims are often not true and they are not in any way challenged by the presenter. An example was that a certain food lowers cholesterol when there is no scientific evidence it does
Her claims are presented as fact as distinct from an opinion. A nutritionist has very little in the way of qualification

I agree that information provided on lots of these slots is inaccurate, sometimes just wrong. However, saying a nutritionist has little qualification is a broad statement, i'm sure the levels of qualification vary between nutritionists, sports teams wouldn't spend thousands on them to help improve performance if it wasn't backed up by something.

Nutriotion varys greatly from person to person, we all have different needs and certain foods will affect people differently.These slots are usually based on listeners texts or calls who offer no medical or lifestyle background, and the guest will provide a broad answer. The worst of which is Dr.Kelly on Hook, although she usually ends with a " go see your doctor" the premise of it is usually a text being read out "I'm 44, in good shape, exercise three times a week and have a good diet but I cant lose weight" followed by a few general answers I could tell you and saying visit a doctor.


What exactly was the food being talked about that lowers colestorael?

jenny smith

"What exactly was the food being talked about that lowers colestorael?" I do not want to be responsible for people trying it. And nutritionist is not regulated anyone can be one. not so a doctor

KReid

jenny smith wrote: »

"What exactly was the food being talked about that lowers colestorael?" I do not want to be responsible for people trying it. And nutritionist is not regulated anyone can be one. not so a doctor

No one is coming to the Radio thread on Boards for nutritional advice, is it something that has no basis in lowering colestoral or something that COULD have potential benefits?

I appreciate it's not regulated, but it doens't mean that the people who do it don't have qualifications. What show/station was this person on? Iv'e heard a few and they can be very misleading.

zoobizoo

Producers must take some responsibility. It's like they never learned from the nonsense spouted by Gillian McKeith back in the day.

Now we have celeb model types making food claims on radio and tv in order to shift units of their books who go unquestioned by presenters. (coconut oil / pink salt etc)

The fact that they have personal trainers and plastic surgery to keep them looking so young / slim never seems to crop up....

Grolschevik

People generally confuse 'dietitian' (professionally trained expert) with nutritionist (anyone can use the term).

wnolan1992

In this case, you'd be lodging a complaint based on the General Commercial Communications Code of the BAI. There's a section in there about providing medical advice. (You'll have to look into this yourself, it's been a few years since I've read it).

First, you must contact the station directly through their complaints process. Once they respond, you can refer it to the BAI if you are unsatisfied. The BAI will contact the station again, the station will respond to the BAI, the BAI will send you their response. If you're unhappy with this response, you can refer it to a BAI committee, at which they'll make a decision.

It's a long, tedious process that can last 3-4 months, so make sure you're making a complaint based on a breach of the code, backed up by quotes from the piece and an explanation as to how it was in breach of the code, as opposed to something you feel was wrong to broadcast.

jenny smith

persom who i sent pm to  sorry re blank message i clicked reply i think . i cannot pm you now
the stomach drug not needed  claim was tuesday of last week 28 april i think .she said cider apple vinegar better i think. the cholesterol a few months ago.

jenny smith

No one is coming to the Radio thread on Boards for nutritional advice, is it something that has no basis in lowering colestoral or something that COULD have potential benefits?

I appreciate it's not regulated, but it doens't mean that the people who do it don't have qualifications. What show/station was this person on? Iv'e heard a few and they can be very misleading.

the internet is open to everyone and it might show in a search. People can do what they wish i am not facilating the sale of sham products. i asked a pharmacy if there was scoientif proof of this product. The person said "our customers seem happy with it" How scientific