Mediplacements

Dietetics News

Display News Filters

News by Profession

Dietetics Jobs by Duration

News Links

Low-fat diet increases early death risk, study claims

Friday 1st September 2017
A new study suggests a low-fat diet might increase the risk of premature death, but how much truth is there in this? Image: white_caty via iStock
Latest Jobs

People who adopt a low-fat diet could be putting themselves at greater risk of premature death, a new study has warned.

According to new research from McMaster University and Hamilton Health Sciences in Canada, people who cut all fat from their diet tend to replace this with more carbohydrates, which could be putting them at increased risk of heart disease and subsequent early death.

The diets of some 135,000 adults were analysed for the study, which found that people who consumed a greater variety of foods, including high-fat products like butter and cheese, tended to live for longer than those who cut all fat from their diets.

Some low-fat products can contain high amounts of sugar, so this could be one reason for the increased health risks among those adopting a low-fat diet.

What's more, the study authors warned that people could be missing out on essential nutrients that are contained in high-fat products.

NHS guidance recommends that everyone should eat some fat as part of their diet, but men should not consume in excess of 30 grams a day, while women should limit their intake to no more than 20 grams.

Dr Andrew Mente, one of the paper's researchers, commented: "Our data suggests that low-fat diets put populations at increased risk for cardiovascular disease."

However, he stressed that this is most likely due to people failing to adopt a healthy, balanced diet by restricting their intake of certain food groups.

"Loosening the restriction on total fat and saturated fat and imposing limits on carbohydrates when high to reduce intake to moderate levels would be optimal," he advised, suggesting that just over one-third (35 per cent) of a person's total calorie intake should come from fats.

Salim Yusuf, principal investigator of the study, added: "Moderation in most aspects of diet is to be preferred, as opposed to very low or very high intakes of most nutrients."

Written by Martin Lambert

Mediplacements is a genuine specialist medical recruitment company. Contact us to see the latest dietitian jobs.ADNFCR-1780-ID-801839501-ADNFCR

Related News