The following appeared in a letter to the editor of a newsletter on health issues.

“For the past decade, most health experts have advised teenagers to avoid eating greasy foods in order to prevent acne and related skin conditions, but the number of teenagers who sought medical help for these skin problems has actually risen over the same period. In a recent study, teenagers who avoided greasy foods for a month reported approximately as many outbreaks of acne and related skin conditions as did those who ate an average of two servings of greasy food per day. Such data indicate that eating greasy foods is unlikely to be a cause of acne and related skin conditions. Therefore, health experts should no longer recommend that people avoid such foods.”

In a letter to the editor of a newsletter on health issues, it is suggested that health experts should not recommend people to abstain from greasy foods since these are unlikely to be a cause of acne and related skin conditions. This is the consequence of a recent study that revealed that teenagers avoiding greasy foods for a month had almost as many acne problems as their counterparts taking two servings of greasy food per day. The argument is based on the growing number of teenagers seeking medical help for skin problems, in spite of advice from health experts.

However, the claim made in the letter does not interpret the resent study reliably. The period of one month is too short to get rid of acne or skin problems caused by greasy foods. Hence, the survey conducted stands unjustified as the teenagers who have avoided the greasy foods need more time to come up with the actual results. Only then it can be understood as to how much the acne and other skin problems are related to greasy foods.

The next case in point is about the rise in number of teenagers seeking medical help for skin related problems. This may be due to the growing awareness among teenagers. It would be wrong to assume that all teenagers are taking to the advice of health experts and abstaining from greasy food. In spite of their awareness, they may be tempted by the variety of food stuff rich in spice and oil. This does not imply that health experts should stop giving tips for acne free skin. In fact, it is absurd to conclude that since more and more teens are getting treated for acne, they must have been avoiding greasy food stuffs too. This is an assumption without any valid proof.

Equivalently, it is possible that the outbreak of acne and related skin problems in teens is due to various other reasons as well. For example, it could be due to onset of puberty and related hormonal changes, due to stress, anxiety, restlessness, exposure to pollution or some type of food allergy. Still, none of these contradict the recommendation of the health experts to avoid greasy foods for acne free skin.

In addition to this, suggestions and tips given by health experts are not meant solely for teenagers. There are people from all age groups who benefit from the guidance of health experts. The survey conducted is limited to teenagers whilst, it is a known fact that acne and other related skin problems prop up among adults too. Thus, there is no reason for anyone to presume that acne and other skin problems are not related to greasy foods and it would not be fair to hold the advice of health experts in low esteem.

In conclusion, the argument given does not hold any good since it is based on a survey which is conducted within a limited scope and hence recommendations from health experts should keep pouring in till the time it is not proved that acne and related skin problems are independent of greasy food stuffs.