Role of dietary fat in health

Recent scientific evidence is reviewed which shows that some modest success at improving the morbidity due to atherosclerotic disease has been achieved by a diet lower in fat and cholesterol and higher in polyunsaturated fatty acids than the usual American diet. This has shown a group correlation with serum cholesterol reduction. The effect is small enough that no statistically significant improvement in overall mortality rate has yet been seen in groups studied. Many imponderables remain in the use of a high polyunsaturated fatty acids diet: not only is the optimal daily dietary intake uncertain, but its effects upon the body economy are just beginning to receive attention. While it seems reasonable to attempt nomalization of abnormal blood lipid patterns through dietary or pharmacological efforts in those individuals with acquired or inherited hyperlipidemias, the presently available data do not warrant major revision of the dietary pattern for the remaining 80–90% of the population. One of five papers presented at the symposium, “Status of Fat in Food and Nutrition,” AOCS Fall Meeting, Chicago, September 1973.