DIETARY GUIDELINES CALLING FOR CUT IN FAT INTAKE AND REPLACED WITH CARB INCREASES MORTALITY RISK- STUDY

Findings from a study involving 135,000 people from 18 countries show high fat diets (about 35% energy-including saturated and unsaturated fats) corresponded to a lower risk of death, contrasting with diet high in carbohydrates (above 60% energy) which was associated with  higher risk of death.  Published in The Lancet,  the study provides a global look at the realities of peoples in many countries and gives a clearer picture of people’s fat and carbohydrate intake, said lead author Dr. Mahshid Dehghan, senior research associate at McMasters University in Canada.  The findings also suggest a need to revisit the current World Health Organization (WHO) dietary guidelines recommending a low-fat diet (less than 30% of energy) and limiting saturated fatty acids to less than 10% of energy intake by replacing them with unsaturated fatty acids.

The obsevational study, Prospective Urban-Rural Epidemiology (PURE), tracked the dietary habits of 135,335 individuals, aged 35 to 70 years, from countries across the world from January 2003 to March 2013.  These countries included three high-income (Canada, Sweden, and United Arab Emirates), 11 middle-income (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, China, Colombia, Iran, Malaysia, occupied Palestinian territory, Poland, South Africa, and Turkey) and four low-income countries (Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and Zimbabwe).  

Each participant supplied data on socioeconomic status, lifestyle behaviours and medical history, as well as completed a questionnaire on the types of foods and beverages they consumed, size portions, and frequency.  Follow-up visits for seven and a half years were arranged with the research team to gather additional data on cardiovascular events (fatal and non-fatal heart attacks, stroke and heart failure) as well as incidences of death.  From this information, the researchers were able to calculate rates of cardiovascular events like heart attack, stroke, heart failure, noncardiovascular events and deaths.