Question

eating a hotdog takes 37 minutes off of your life

Comments

I found other articles written about the same things, such as CNN and ABC News. Those were published before this article was published. Also, this article has less information, which seems to copy and summarize from those articles.

Answer 1

I agree with you saying that this article has very little information. I would say that this article in itself is not a reliable source due to the lack of information it gives after such a strong claim, leaving me to believe that it was just clickbait. Along with this, when the author, Alexa Mae Aspirin mentions the health experts involved, she never states a specific person behind that title, furthering the evidence that this is not a reliable source. This author should have given more information on the topic instead of just a couple hundred words that don't give much explanation to this claim.

Comments

I wish you used sources instead of just commenting and at least citing something from the health expert that you mentioned. It seems like instead of a factcheck or claim this was just a comment about the question. This would have been interesting to look at what the nutritional value of what a hotdog brings to a meal and if it actually contains something bad that could add up sometime in the future.

Answer 2

A study from the University of Michigan published in *Nature Food* suggests that eating a single hot dog may reduce healthy life expectancy by about 36 minutes. This finding comes from the Health Nutritional Index developed by the researchers, which calculates health impacts of various foods based on their nutritional profile and contribution to disease burden. While processed meats like hot dogs can shorten life expectancy due to high levels of sodium and harmful additives, other foods—like fruits, nuts, and legumes—are linked to gains in life expectancy. The study aims to guide people toward dietary choices that are both health- and environmentally-friendly, showing that even modest shifts, such as replacing 10% of processed meats with healthier options, could increase life expectancy and reduce carbon footprints significantly. Critics, however, emphasize that lifestyle, genetics, and overall diet patterns are more influential on longevity than single food items.

https://news.umich.edu/small-changes-in-diet-could-help-you-live-healthier-more-sustainably/

Comments

This is very insightful. I'm wondering what year these studies are from and if they have made any new studies on these claims since they were made.

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thanks for this comment, I found it really helpful when thinking about what foods really do for our bodies.

Answer 3

The first thing I looked into when fact checking this claim was the source that it was put out on. KRON4 is a trusted news source that is on television, located in San Fransisco. The article came out in 2021, which means it is not very outdated, and the author of the article, Alexa Mae Asperin seems to be a regular writer for the KRON4. After researching this claim a bit more I saw that other big trusted news sources were claiming this as well, such as CNN and ABC News. The article also explains where it got research done which was at the University of Michigan which seems like a reliable way of finding out this research. Overall I would say that this fact is true, and the article does not spread any misinformation.

Comments

Your fact check was very insightful and I like the way you explained how you were able to tell that the source was in fact realiable. I was just wondering if you had found other sources that back up the argument as well? Although the claim comes from a known university, there could still have been errors in reaserch and it could be helpful to cross reference information.

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I appreciate that you did extra research but it also would have been nice to see direct quotes with links to the other sources like CNN and ABC. I’m just curious as to what their take was on this claim.