Saturated fat
Penodol i Ogledd Iwerddon
In Northern Ireland, we define the policy for consumers and the food industry on saturated fat. The Eating Well, Choosing Better is a programme designed to make healthy choices easy for consumers in Northern Ireland.
We know that people are generally eating more saturated fat, on average, than recommended, and rising levels of obesity state that energy intakes currently exceed energy requirements.
Both these issues raise serious health concerns, particularly in relation to coronary heart disease, some cancers and type 2 diabetes.
The Eating Well Choosing Better programme encourages businesses to reduce the levels of sugars, saturated fat and salt in the foods they manufacture, and sell.
SACN report - 'Saturated fats and health'
The Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) has published its report on the role of saturated fats and health and concludes no need to change current advice.
Key findings from the report:
- higher saturated fat consumption is linked to raised blood cholesterol
- higher intakes of saturated fat are associated with increased risk of heart disease and
- saturated fats should be swapped with unsaturated fats
- there is no need to change current advice that saturated fat should not exceed around 10% of food energy
The report and supporting documents are available on the Public Health England website.