DRAFT Australian Dietary Guidelines - Eat For Health

3.1.2 The evidence for ‘limiting intake of foods and
drinks containing saturated and trans fat’
The evidence for associations between dietary fat and the development of type 2 diabetes,
hypertension, cancer and poor mental health was reviewed. The link between dietary saturated
fat, cholesterol levels, atherosclerosis and other components of cardiovascular disease has been
well established in previous guidelines, and was not reviewed here.
The Guidelines recommend caution in choosing foods high in fat because of the implications for
weight gain and cardiovascular disease risk. Fat-rich foods are energy (kilojoule) dense, heightening
the risk of excess energy intake [489]. The evidence base for the effects of dietary fat has grown
substantially and increased in specificity with respect to different fatty acids.
Scientific evidence on the effect of dietary fat on health can come from studies that address dietary
variables in a number of ways. These include whole-of-diet studies examining the proportion of fat
in the diet (relative to protein and carbohydrate), the type of fat in the diet (relative to other
types of fat), the effects of specific fatty acids in the diet, and the effects of individual foods in
which fat is a significant component. For example, studies could examine the effects of:
a low-fat diet
a diet with a modified dietary fat ratio, for example, a high polyunsaturated:saturated fat
ratio (P:S or PUFA:SFA)
a diet enriched with specific fatty acids (for example, omega-3 fatty acids)
oils and fats (for example, olive oil, spreads) in a defined dietary pattern.
Examining the evidence for the effects of fats and oils on health found a full range of these types of
studies.
Methodological issues arise when considering the effects of fats and of dietary fat in the total diet.
The difficulty in designing studies that address the question of the effect of dietary fat on disease
risk is reflected in several recent reviews on the topic. It is important to note that inconsistency in
results affects the strength of the evidence statements below.
There is ample evidence of the relationships between dietary patterns and disease risk at the
population level [490]. Fat content is an important component of diet quality and it may be that
the evidence for limiting fat in the diet is best considered from the food and whole-of-diet
perspective with additional reference to overall nutritional quality.
The evidence statements and gradings (A- convincing association, B- probable association, C-
suggestive association) related to ‘limit fat’ from the Evidence Report (literature from years 2002 –
2009) are presented in the table below. This does not include evidence from other sources, such
as the 2003 Dietary Guidelines (where evidence was classified as level I, II or III in which individual
DRAFT Australian Dietary Guidelines- December 2011 77