The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "diets" ...
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Fen-phen Horse
A diet drug names fen-phen was pulled from the market because it was linked to heart problems, and after a $200 million settlement case the injured patients' attorneys cheated them out of their money. The attorneys used the money to buy a race horse that won the Preakness, in addition to setting up questionable charities and included the judge in the case on the payroll after he retired.
Tags: Curlin; horse racing; settlement; class action; William Gallion; Shirley Cunningham; Melbourne Mills;
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Rating the Diets
The authors used an "evidence-based approach" to rate nine different popular diet programs in terms of their nutritional value and usefulness.
Tags: nutrition; dieting; Weight Watchers; Slim-Fast; Zone diet; computer assisted reporting; calorie analysis; weight loss
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Firm Beliefs
The idea for this story came to light during a murder investigation. WTVF uncovered evidence linking the child-abuse death of an 8-year-old boy in the Atlanta area to the teachings of his family's church. The church, located just outside of Nashville, was started by Christian diet guru Gwen Shamblin. Despite Shamblin's denials, the investigation uncovered church tapes that documented how she had instructed her followers to severely discipline their children. Among the tapes: a conference call in which the mother was applauded for locking her child in his room for days.
Tags: faith teachings; religious teachings; religious teachings and child abuse; Gwen Shamblin; Tennessee
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Dose of Denial
After decades of researching cold and diet remedies and discovering that these medicines could cause a stroke, major pharmaceutical companies continued to sell these drugs in the markets. This LA Times story describes the life of Tricia Newenham who took this medication and is now mentally disabled after suffering from a stroke.
Tags: Pharmaceutical companies; drugs that cause stroke; Tricia Newenham; diet remedies; cold medicines; FDA; FDA regulations; PPA; phenylpropanolamine
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A Dose of Denial
This article focuses on the dangers of phenylpropanolamine, or PPA, and the lengths that drug makers took to keep it on the shelves even though they knew risks associated with the ingredient. PPA is an ingredient in many popular over-the-counter cold medicines, such as Triaminic cough syrup, Alka-Seltzer Plus, Dimetapp, and diet aides such as Dexatrim and Acutrim. Although studies showed a link to hypertension and stroke, drug makers kept putting the drugs in consumers' hands.
Tags: Bayer; Food and Drug Administration (FDA); Yale Hemorrhagic Stroke Project
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Are these diet pills deadly?
Glamour reports on a decade-long lack of action by the FDA against the drug ephedra. The writers charge the drug industry with stalling the government on both state and federal levels. The story also exposes the ways in which some manufacturers purportedly proved their products were safe and effective, documenting how little research had ever been done on ephedra-based supplements and debunking the single study most often cited by the industry. The story also talks about how marketers continued to use flimsy evidence to make claims about their products efficacy....claims that were unanimously voted to be false and scientifically impossible by the Federal Trade Commission.
Tags: ephedra; diet supplements; U.S. Food and Drug Administration; ephedra-based supplements; Federal Trade Commission; Rand Corporation; Health and Human Services; herbal supplement; FDA; National Football League; National Collegiate Athletic Association; American Medical Association; consumer-advocacy groups; Xenadrine; Hydroxycut; Metabolife International Inc.; Metabolife; fen-phen; Dietary supplement Health and Education Act; DSHEA; Public Citizen's Health Research Group; Yale Center for Eating and Weight Disorders; diet pill; Ephedra Education Council; AER; adverse event report; Center for Drug Evaluation and Research
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Seeds of Deception
This explosive expose reveals how industry manipulation and political collusion - not sound science - allow dangerous genetically engineered food into your daily diet.
Tags: BOOK; questionnaire included
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Morbid Obesity: Eating our way to the grave
The Evansville Courier & Press five-part series on morbid obesity and its effects on the community. Stories looks at Overeaters Anonymous, the growing number of overweight children, gastric bypass surgery and health risks.
Tags: obesity; health; gastric bypass surgery; diet; food; fat content; Overeaters Anonymous; calories; overweight children; body mass
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Early Warning: Heart-Valve Problem That Felled Diet Pills Had Arisen Previously
The Wall Street Journal looks at cases in Belgium of leaky heart valve reports connected with diet pills. "U.S. sellers heard reports from Belgiom but passed only some on to FDA."
Tags: diet pills; heart-valve problems; FDA; Belgium; Redux
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Dispensing with the Truth
Mundy tells how thousands of women fell ill and died after taking Fen-Phen, a popular diet-drug combination. The dieters suffered severe damages to their hearts and lungs. Those who survived were disabled for the rest of their lives. The book reveals that the manufacturer, Wyeth-Ayerst, a division of American Home Products, was well aware of the hazards of the product, but chose not to inform the public, the doctors and the regulators. The author looks at the tragic story of Mary Linnen, a healthy young woman who was the first to die from taking the dangerous medicine, and whose family was the first to file a wrongful death suit. The book depicts the avalanche of wrongful deaths and lawsuits that came in the years after the appearance of Fen-Phen in the market.
Tags: BOOK; heart disease; pulmonary hypertension; pneumonia; dieting; Food and Drug Administration (FDA); medicine; drug manufacturers