Why does the headline state "Study Links Diet Soft Drinks With Cardiac Risk" when the story says otherwise?

Question

If you read through the Yahoo! Health story, it states that, "Vasan, who noted that he is not a nutritional expert, said he leans toward the theory that "this is a marker of dietary behavior" -- that people who like to drink sweet soda also like to eat the kind of foods that cardiac nutritionists warn against.
"But we cannot infer causality," Vasan said, meaning there is no proof that soda itself is the villain. "We have an association. Maybe it is a causal one or maybe it is a marker of something else."

So if it is the diet that causes cardiac risk, why does the headline directly state that it is soft drinks?

Answer 1

It was an attention grabbing headline. Many small publications use that ploy to catch your attention, a good example will be tabloid magazines at the cash out register area of the local grocery stores. The real story will be dissapointing to say the least.

"Monster alligator strolls downtown" or something like that. Do you ever buy the magazines?

That story also caught my eye but not enough to make me click on it. However, if I drank diet soda, I might have, like you did.

Answer 2

Good point, but the title does just say soda is "linked" to cardiac risk. Based on the study that was done, the title is accurate although not the whole truth (and therefore misleading). They were studying effects of soda and determined that folks who drink soda probably have less than ideal diets and are more likely to have cardiac risk. That's a link. Plus the headline is supposed to grab your attention (which it did) so the writer did the right thing.