Are dietary recommendations for dietary fat reduction achievable?

Abstract

Despite several sets of dietary guidelines aimed at reducing fat intakes in the UK populations the actual fat intake in the UK has remained remarkably constant over the last decade. It is therefore of utmost importance to understand why the advice of the 1980s was not taken on board by the nation, to enable the achievement of current nutritional targets for dietary fat set for 2005. The nature of the diets of those individuals in the UK who have low fat intakes in line with the dietary goals are considered here, with the aim to increase our understanding of how the goals can be achieved in the free-living population. This paper postulates that a low fat diet will be easier to achieve, more palatable and hence more acceptable to the consumer if the dietary fat is replaced with a mixture of energy from sugar and starch. Further research is required to gain a greater understanding of what type of dietary composition will enable the free-living population to achieve a reduction in their dietary fat intake. This in turn will allow the dissemination of appropriate nutritional advice in the future and inform product development initiatives in the food industry.