Does eating fat make your heart worse?
Evidence from prospective cohort studies does not support current dietary fat guidelines: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Saturated fat intake showed a risk ratio of 1.08 — meaning more saturated fat was linked to a tiny, non-significant increase in heart death risk — but not enough to be statistically meaningful.
This directly contradicts decades of public health messaging that saturated fat is a primary driver of heart disease.
Practical Takeaways
Don’t panic if you enjoy butter, cheese, or red meat — this study suggests they aren’t linked to higher heart death risk in men.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Saturated fat intake showed a risk ratio of 1.08 — meaning more saturated fat was linked to a tiny, non-significant increase in heart death risk — but not enough to be statistically meaningful.
This directly contradicts decades of public health messaging that saturated fat is a primary driver of heart disease.
Practical Takeaways
Don’t panic if you enjoy butter, cheese, or red meat — this study suggests they aren’t linked to higher heart death risk in men.
Publication
Journal
British Journal of Sports Medicine
Year
2016
Authors
Z. Harcombe, J. Baker, B. Davies
Related Content
Claims (6)
Multiple large-scale meta-analyses of prospective cohort studies demonstrate no statistically significant association between dietary saturated fat intake and incidence of coronary heart disease or cardiovascular disease.
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.
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.
The studies used in this review mostly involved men, so we can't be sure the results apply to everyone, like women or different ethnic groups.
The official advice to eat less fat to avoid dying of heart disease isn't backed up by the long-term studies of large groups of people.