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Asked by Zahra to Charlotte, hannahmoir, Majid, Richard, Sam on 7 Mar 2016.
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Charlotte Green answered on 7 Mar 2016:
This is not my area of research but it is true that what you eat will also affect things like your skin and spots as well as your weight. Sorry I cant give you more information maybe one of the other scientist will be able to explain in more detail.
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Sam Smith answered on 8 Mar 2016:
Thanks Zahra. I’m going to disagree with Charlotte a little here, and say I think it’s a myth. So this is a good example when two scientists disagree on a topic. So there’s only one way to resolve it – test it with science. What we need is a group of 100 people and count how many spots they have. Then split them into two groups, and ask 1 group not to eat sugar, and the other to carry on as normal. In two weeks, we count the number of spots again and see if there’s a difference. This kind of study design is common in what we do and the most vigorous test of ideas. But i don’t think I’m going to volunteer to count everyones spots! Be my guest though!!!
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Hannah Moir answered on 8 Mar 2016:
As both Charlotte and Sam point out below, the research on this question is contradictory, some studies show there could be a link and others suggest not. It may be due to the types of foods and how much is eaten that may influence your hormones which may then affect acne, but a lot of the time it is part of puberty and unfortunately there is not a lot we can do to stop this happening.
Comments
Charlotte commented on :
Thanks for this Sam its great to highlight how important proof is in science 🙂 What I will say is it may not be the sugar itself that can increase spots or not but rather your diet in general as well as other factors such as sleep. But this sounds like a great little project for kids to do in the classroom. But I am with Sam I am not volunteering to count spots or to be the one being counted 🙂