#618: How Wellness & Optimisation Culture Can Commodify Science – Nick Tiller, PhD

Wellness and optimisation culture increasingly presents itself as "science-based". But citing studies, using technical language, or having scientific credentials does not guarantee that the underlying evidence is being represented accurately.

In this episode, exercise science researcher Dr. Nick Tiller, discusses how science can be selectively packaged, overstated, and used to support commercially attractive health claims. It explores the difference between science communication and science commodification, why scientific scepticism is distinct from cynicism, how anecdotes and mechanistic explanations can mislead, and why a single peer-reviewed study should never be treated as definitive evidence.

The conversation also looks further upstream at problems within science itself, including low statistical power, p-hacking, publication bias, questionable research practices, and academic incentives that may favour novelty and positive findings. These issues can then be amplified through media, social platforms, and the wellness industry until tentative findings become confident recommendations.