WHO guideline
Background
Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the leading cause of mortality in the world. Modifiable risk factors such as unhealthy diets, physical inactivity, tobacco use and harmful use of alcohol are major risk factors. Among other dietary factors, the amounts of saturated fatty acids (SFA) and trans-fatty acids (TFA) in the diet have been explored as possible contributors to the development of CVDs.
SFA are found primarily in foods from animal sources and in some plant-derived oils and fats. TFA can be produced industrially by the partial hydrogenation of vegetable and fish oils, but also occur naturally in meat and dairy products from ruminant animals (e.g. cattle, sheep, goats, camels). Because the role of SFA and TFA in the development of CVDs continues to be debated, it was considered important to review the evidence in a systematic manner, and update current World Health Organization (WHO) guidance on these fatty acids through the WHO guideline development process.
Objective, scope and methods
The objective of this guideline is to provide updated guidance on the intake of SFA and TFA, to be used by policy-makers, programme managers, health professionals and other stakeholders in efforts to promote healthy diets. The guideline was developed following the WHO guideline development process, as outlined in the WHO handbook for guideline development. This process includes a review of systematically gathered evidence by an international, multidisciplinary group of experts; assessment of the quality of that evidence via the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) framework; and consideration of additional, potentially mitigating factors1 when translating the evidence into recommendations. The guidance in this guideline replaces previous WHO guidance on SFA and TFA intake, including that from the 1989 WHO Study Group on Diet, Nutrition and the Prevention of Chronic Diseases and the 2002 Joint WHO/FAO Expert Consultation on Diet, Nutrition and the Prevention of Chronic Diseases.
