Experts disagree with WHO saturated fat guidelines

A draft WHO guideline recommends reducing intake of foods rich in saturated fats, like butter, but some experts say the evidence underpinning the guideline is problematic. — AFP

Advice to reduce intake of total saturated fat and replace it with unsaturated fat to curb levels of chronic disease and prevent deaths, set out in draft World Health Organisation (WHO) guidance, was called into question by experts in The BMJ on July 2, 2019.

Arne Astrup and her colleagues at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, looked at the evidence linking saturated fat intake and cardiovascular risk, and say that the recommendations “fail to take into account considerable evidence that the health effects of saturated fat varies depending on the specific fatty acid and on the specific food source”.