Consuming saturated fats from meat linked to heart disease risk, finds study

26 Aug 2021 --- New evidence points to a link between eating saturated fat from meat and developing heart disease. A study in more than 100,000 individuals found that consuming 5 percent higher total energy from saturated fat from meat was associated with 19 percent and 21 percent elevated risks of total cardiovascular disease (CVD) and heart disease, respectively.

The associations, however, did not remain significant after accounting for body mass index (BMI), according to the researchers.

The UK Biobank conducted the study, and the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) has presented the research.

The study results found no clear associations between total saturated fat and CVD outcomes.

“The results suggest that differences in BMI may be responsible, in part, for the association between CVD and saturated fat from meat,” Rebecca Kelly, study author and doctor at Nuffield Department of Population Health, University of Oxford, UK.BMI may be associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular disease than intake of saturated fats from meat.

“It is not possible to determine whether this is because of a specific impact of saturated fat from meat on BMI or because those with a higher BMI consume more meat. In addition, it is difficult to fully disentangle whether part of the effect of saturated fat on CVD may be through higher low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol in this cohort because cholesterol-lowering medication use is high in UK adults.”

Researchers also found that associations of SFA from dairy with heart disease went in the opposite direction, but this association was unclear after accounting for BMI.

Participants health monitored
The study included 114,285 UK Biobank participants who did not have CVD at the start of the study. The research examined how saturated fat from various foods relates to ischaemic heart disease, stroke, and total CVD (heart disease and stroke combined).

“The association between saturated fat and CVD risk in observational studies has previously been unclear. The findings are important because they provide a possible explanation, that the relationship may vary depending on the food source,” says Kelly.

The participants completed dietary assessments that questioned what foods they consumed the day before to estimate their usual total saturated fat and saturated fat intake from different foods, such as dairy and meat.

Additionally, they completed a detailed lifestyle questionnaire and had blood samples and body measurements taken.

The researchers tracked participants for approximately 8.5 years using information from linked hospital and death records to determine whether they developed CVD.

During the follow-up period, total CVD, heart disease, and stroke occurred in 4,365, 3,394 and 1,041 participants, respectively.

The data was analyzed to assess if there were links between total saturated fat and saturated fat intake from different foods and CVD outcomes. The analysis accounted for multiple lifestyles, socioeconomic and medical factors.Cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of death and disability worldwide.

“We found that saturated fat from meat may be associated with a higher risk than other food sources – in part because those consuming large amounts of meat also had a higher BMI than low consumers,” says Kelly.

Cardiovascular disease
Cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of death and disability worldwide, according to a study.

Eating higher amounts of saturated fat is linked to elevated LDL or “bad” cholesterol, increasing cardiovascular disease risk.

“We recommend following the dietary guidelines advice to consume less than 10 percent of daily energy from saturated fat. Our findings emphasize the importance of studying the different food sources of saturated fat when examining the risk of CVD,” adds Kelly.

“Further research is needed to ensure that these observations were not influenced by dietary or non-dietary factors that were not measured in this study.”

There is evidence that different foods rich in saturated fat, particularly meat and dairy, may have differing associations with cardiovascular disease.

The American Heart Association also reported on the effects of high cardiovascular risk factors in childhood during adulthood, such as lower memory and learning capabilities.

Eliminating unhealthy fat intake
The intake of unhealthy fats is a global issue. Industry players are making changes to policies to reduce BMI-related ailments.

In this space, The Philippines’ Department of Health issued a requirement for the country’s food supply to not contain industrially produced trans fat by 2023. It is the 45th country to do so.

In July, the UK charity Action on Sugar informed cereal manufacturers to remove child-friendly packaging images as it was found that 92 percent of these breakfast cereals had a high sugar content.

By Nicole Kerr