The Diary Of A CEO · 2026-02-26 · Steven Bartlett (host), Jessie Inchauspé

They're Lying About 'Healthy' Foods & Sugar! Shocking New Research That's Harming You

55 research-tied claims examined: 3 contradicted 4 overstated 4 context 39 supported 5 unverified

4 Overstated
0:24:35Jessie Inchauspéoverstatedlow

Visual processing reaction time in infants during their first year of life is correlated with adult IQ.

"flash images on that screen and you measure how quickly the baby reacts to the new images. So, how quickly he moves his eyes. And the reason they do this is because this test is correlated to adult IQ." (said at 0:24:35)

The speaker accurately describes infant visual reaction time / visual anticipation paradigms (where eye movement latency to flashing or alternating images on a screen is recorded), but overstates the evidence by claiming direct correlation with adult IQ. Longitudinal studies (such as Dougherty & Haith, 1997) demonstrate that visual reaction time and anticipation measured at 3.5 months correlate with visual reaction time and intelligence quotient (IQ) in early childhood (e.g., at age 4), rather than adulthood.

0:42:41Jessie Inchauspéoverstatedmoderate

Studies demonstrate that performing 5 to 10 squats every 5 minutes after eating significantly reduces postprandial glucose spikes.

"there's some studies showing that if you do, I think it's five squats or 10 squats every 5 minutes, that is a very powerful way to get your glucose spike down." (said at 0:42:41)

Studies evaluating brief bodyweight resistance exercise to break up postprandial sedentary time typically use intervals of every 20 to 30 minutes (such as 10–15 chair squats or 3 minutes of simple resistance activities), not 'every 5 minutes'. Furthermore, in healthy and overweight adults without diabetes, intermittent chair squats consistently reduce postprandial insulin concentrations without significantly altering postprandial blood glucose levels. Significant attenuation of postprandial glucose excursions with intermittent bodyweight resistance breaks has been demonstrated primarily in individuals with type 2 diabetes.

1:14:33Steven Bartlett (host)overstatedvery low

Being breastfed as an infant epigenetically programs higher leptin production that can persist for life.

"And leptin is the hormone we talked about at the beginning, which when you're breastfed as a baby, you're epigenetically making more leptin. And this setting can stay with you for life." (said at 1:14:33)

The speaker's claim is overstated. Small observational studies in infants (such as Obermann-Borst et al., 2013) have found an association between longer duration of breastfeeding and lower DNA methylation of the leptin (LEP) gene promoter at 17 months of age, which correlates with higher circulating leptin levels in early childhood. However, these studies are preliminary, cross-sectional, and limited to infancy/toddlerhood. There is no empirical longitudinal evidence demonstrating that breastfeeding epigenetically locks in permanently higher leptin production across the human lifespan.

1:18:27Steven Bartlett (host)overstatedhigh

Humans share approximately 98% of their DNA with orangutans.

"Did you consider, I don't know, the orangutan where we share most of our DNA? I think it's like 98% of our DNA." (said at 1:18:27)

Humans do share a high degree of sequence similarity with orangutans, but the ~98% figure applies to our closer great ape relatives, chimpanzees and bonobos (~98.8%) and gorillas (~98.4%). Comparative genomic sequencing shows that humans share approximately 97% (about 96.9% nucleotide identity in alignable regions, or a ~3.1% divergence rate) of their DNA sequence with orangutans (Pongo abelii and Pongo pygmaeus), reflecting their status as the most phylogenetically distant of the great apes from humans.

Unverified means no publication matching the claim was located; it does not prove the claim false. Spotted an error? See the corrections policy - disputes from the people quoted are prioritized.