BMJ online publishes my letter criticizing their "large thighs protect" news release

My Rapid Response posting on the BMJ (although it was not so rapidly posted in about 8 hours!):

This is not a comment on the study but on BMJ's promotion of its publication, sent to journalists around the world.

It was misleading and erroneous.

The title of the news release: "Large thighs protect against heart disease and early death."

The news release did not mention the limitations of such a study and did not mention the fact that association does not equal causation.

So it is inaccurate and misleading to talk about "protection" from anything when you haven't established a causal link.

Each day for the past 3.5 years, my http://www.HealthNewsReview.org project has tried to help journalists understand how to better interpret science for their readers and viewers. Had a news story done what the BMJ did, we would have given it an unsatisfactory score.

Are your standards no higher?

You missed a chance to educate; indeed, you misled.

But, indeed, I guess that BMJ got what it wanted: early this morning I counted more than 140 stories online that loved the "thick thighs protect hearts" theme that you promoted - erroneously.