Yes, studies can be manipulated. They often are. But there's almost always a motivation behind doing it, like coke funding studies about obesity and making sure they come out favorably. It also very easy to pick them out from the genuine ones.
I'm actively conducting research at the moment and as I dig through peer reviews, criticism, and research, it's easy to tell which are good and which are designed with the specific purpose of manipulating results. But this is also educational research and it's so corrupt that nearly every other article is funded by someone with a vested interest.
So I understand what your saying, I just don't see the value of someone doing that in this particular instance. I think it's much more likely it trains him to keep his gut in, or makes him feel likes it's effective, but I strongly doubt the long term results, unless someone's applying immense pressure to their rib cage over time and permanently altering the structure, which is dangerous.
But my original comment was more of a joke about him selling it anyway, because the picture looks something those fake fitness chicks take who sell detox tea and over priced supplements. Agree to disagree, again just like anything else if it works for you, it works for you and that's all that matters.
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