Science education fails again

Move around and live longer, study says:

CHICAGO - Elderly people who load the dishwasher, climb stairs or just keep moving are bound to live longer than their sedentary counterparts, a study said on Tuesday.

The study of 302 people aged 70 to 82 found those who engaged in more physical activity -- ?not necessarily formal exercise --? were much less likely to die than those who did not move as much.

"The message here is that for older adults, any movement is better than no movement and that this can come from usual daily activities," said study author Todd Manini of the U.S. National Institute on Aging in Bethesda, Maryland.

Actually, the message here is that too many journalists fail to grasp the difference between correlation and causation, and too few educated people understand the scientific method.

An equally valid reading of this study is that people closer to death tend not to move around as much. Perhaps the study did correct for preexisting health differences among the participants. But that's nowhere in the story, and it's a question the reporter (or an editor) should have asked.

Needless to say, I will wait for a more definitive study before loading my dishwasher or climbing the stairs again.