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Official advice on low-fat diet andcholesterol is wrong, says healthcharityReport accuses UK public health bodies of colluding with food industry and

calls for overhaul of dietary guidelines

Press Association

Monday 23 May 2016 07.16

BST

Urging people to follow low-fat diets and to lower their cholesterol ishaving disastrous health consequences, a health charity has warned.

In a damning report that accuses major public health bodies ofcolluding with the food industry, the National Obesity Forum and thePublic Health Collaboration call for a major overhaul of currentdietary guidelines. They say the focus on low-fat diets is failing toaddress Britains obesity crisis, while snacking between meals ismaking people fat.

Instead, they call for a return to whole foods such as meat, !sh anddairy, as well as high-fat, healthy foods including avocados, arguing:Eating fat does not make you fat.

The report which has caused a huge backlash among the scienti!ccommunity also argues that saturated fat does not cause heartdisease while full-fat dairy, including milk, yoghurt and cheese, canactually protect the heart.

Processed foods labelled low fat, lite, low cholesterol or provento lower cholesterol should be avoided at all costs, and people with

type 2 diabetes should eat a fat-rich diet rather than one based oncarbohydrates.

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The report also said sugar should be avoided, people should stopcounting calories and the idea that exercise could help you outrun a

bad diet was a myth. Instead, a diet low in re!ned carbohydrates buthigh in healthy fats was an e#ective and safe approach for preventingweight gain and aiding weight loss, and cuts the risk of heart disease,

it said.

The report added: Eating a diet rich in full-fat dairy such as cheese,milk and yoghurt can actually lower the chance of obesity.

The most natural and nutritious foods available meat, !sh, eggs,dairy products, nuts, seeds, olive, avocados all contain saturated fat.The continued demonisation of omnipresent natural fat drives people

away from highly nourishing, wholesome and health-promotingfoods.

The authors of the report also argue that the science of food has alsobeen corrupted by commercial in$uences.

Just as big tobacco companies bought the loyalty of scientists whena link was made between smoking and lung cancer, the in$uence ofthe food industry represents a signi!cant threat to public health,

they argued. They said the recent Eatwell Guide from Public HealthEngland (PHE) was produced with a large number of people from thefood and drink industry.

Prof David Haslam, chairman of the National Obesity Forum, said: Asa clinician, treating patients all day every day, I quickly realised thatguidelines from on high, suggesting high-carbohydrate, low-fat dietswere the universal panacea, were deeply $awed.

Current e#orts have failed the proof being that obesity levels arehigher than they have ever been, and show no chance of reducingdespite the best e#orts of government and scientists.

Dr Aseem Malhotra, consultant cardiologist and founding member ofthe Public Health Collaboration, a group of medics, said dietaryguidelines promoting low-fat foods were perhaps the biggest mistake

in modern medical history, resulting in devastating consequences forpublic health.


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Sadly this unhelpful advice continues to be perpetuated. The currentEatwell Guide from Public Health England is in my view more like ametabolic timebomb than a dietary pattern conducive for good health.We must urgently change the message to the public to reverse obesityand type 2 diabetes.

Eat fat to get slim. Dont fear fat. Fat is your friend. Its now truly timeto bring back the fat.

Prof Iain Broom, from Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen, said:The continuation of a food policy recommending high-carbohydrate,low-fat, low-calorie intakes as healthy eating is fatally $awed.

Our populations for almost 40 years have been subjected to anuncontrolled global experiment that has gone drastically wrong.

But Prof John Wass, the Royal College of Physicians special adviser onobesity, said there was good evidence that saturated fat increasescholesterol.

He added: What is needed is a balanced diet, regular physical activityand a normal healthy weight. To quote selective studies risks

misleading the public.

Prof Simon Capewell, from the Faculty of Public Health, said: We fullysupport Public Health Englands new guidance on a healthy diet. Theiradvice re$ects evidence-based science that we can all trust. It was notin$uenced by industry.

By contrast, the report from the National Obesity Forum is not peer

reviewed. Furthermore, it does not it indicate who wrote it or how iswas funded. That is worrying.

Dr Mike Knapton, associate medical director at the British HeartFoundation (BHF), said: This report is full of ideas and opinion,however it does not o#er the robust and comprehensive review ofevidence that would be required for the BHF, as the UKs largest heartresearch charity, to take it seriously.

This countrys obesity epidemic is not caused by poor dietaryguidelines; it is that we are not meeting them.


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Dr Alison Tedstone, chief nutritionist at PHE, said: In the face of allthe evidence, calling for people to eat more fat, cut out carbs andignore calories is irresponsible. Unlike this opinion piece, ourindependent experts review all the available evidence oftenthousands of scienti!c papers run full-scale consultations and go to

great lengths to ensure no bias.

Prof Naveed Sattar, from the University of Glasgow, said the reportsmain headline simply to eat more fat is highly contentious andcould have adverse public health consequences.


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