People who eat more artificial trans fats—like those in fried and baked goods—have a higher chance of having a heart attack or dying from heart disease.

Scientific Claim

Higher intake of industrial trans fats is associated with a 21% increased risk of total coronary heart disease (CHD) and a 28% increased risk of CHD mortality in adults, based on pooled data from prospective cohort studies with moderate certainty of evidence, suggesting these fats contribute significantly to cardiovascular risk.

Original Statement

“Total trans fat intake was associated with... total CHD (1.21, 1.10 to 1.33)... CHD mortality (1.28, 1.09 to 1.50)... industrial, but not ruminant, trans fats were associated with CHD mortality (1.18, 1.04 to 1.33) and CHD (1.42, 1.05 to 1.92).”

From study:Unknown Title

Evidence Quality Assessment

Claim Status

appropriately stated

Study Design Support

Design supports claim

Appropriate Language Strength

association

Can only show association/correlation

Assessment Explanation

The study design (observational cohort meta-analysis) cannot prove causation, so using 'associated with' is correct. The authors explicitly state the evidence is moderate for these outcomes and avoid causal language.

Evidence from Studies

Supporting (1)

Unknown Title

Systematic Review With Meta-Analysis

Human

This study found that man-made trans fats (like those in fried and baked goods) raise the risk of heart disease and dying from it, while natural trans fats in dairy and meat don’t. So yes, eating lots of industrial trans fats is bad for your heart.

Contradicting (0)

No contradicting evidence found

Source Study

Unknown Title

Score: 48

DOI: 10.1136/bmj.h3978

Similar Assertions

People who eat more trans fats—especially from processed foods—are more likely to die from any cause, including heart disease and cancer.

85%

People who eat a lot of trans fats (like in fried or processed foods) are more likely to have heart problems than those who eat very little.

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Eating more fat in your diet doesn't seem to make you more likely to die from heart disease, according to long-term studies of nearly 90,000 people.

82%

There’s a hint that eating more saturated fat might raise the risk of dying from heart disease, but the data is too messy and uncertain to say for sure.

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Eating more saturated fat — like in butter or red meat — doesn't appear to raise the chance of dying from heart disease, based on long-term studies of nearly 90,000 people.

80%