title: [The importance of dietary fibers, also objections against the uncritical use of statistics].
abstract: It is explained that mathematical-statistical evalutions in epidemiologic investigations are not principally significant for the causal relationship of different events. This holds true especially for multifactorial connexions. Statistics is an auxiliary science, which is able to point to potential relationships, however, it is not a proof by itself. Unequivocal coincidental relationships can be connected statistically significant. In general the diseases which are related to a lack of fibers in food are typical prosperity diseases (civilization diseases). The same diseases were related earlier to an overconsumption of sugar and they are found also in overnutrition. By selection (e.g. the relation between dietary fibers and coronary heart diseases) and by ignoring important facts the conclusions can be manipulated. It is possible to show in some cases that wrong conclusions are drawn on the basis of a purely mathematical-statistical evalution of nutritional relationships. Even wrong data (e.g. for ethanol consumptions) are evaluated for many years.
mesh_terms: D000437:Alcoholism / Q000150:complications; D002482:Cellulose; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000209:etiology*; D004043:Dietary Fiber; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008107:Liver Diseases / Q000209:etiology; D008297:Male; D012107:Research Design; D013223:Statistics as Topic
chemical_list: D004043:Dietary Fiber; D002482:Cellulose
vernacular_title: Zur Bedeutung der pflanzlichen Faserstoffe (Dietary fibers) Zugleich ein Einwand gegen die kritiklose Anwendung der Statistik.