How to comment on the public consultation — WHO Guidelines on saturated and trans fat intake
This public consultation will be open from 04 May to 1 June 2018
The World Health Organization, through the Department of Nutrition for Health and Development (NHD), is updating the population nutrient intake goals on saturated fatty acid and trans-fatty acid intake. The objective of these guidelines is to provide recommendations on the intake of saturated fatty acids and trans-fatty acids to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease in adults and children.
These recommendations will be used by policy-makers and programme managers to assess current intake levels of these fatty acids in their population, and to develop policy actions and public health interventions.
So far, the guidelines draft is repeating the same advice on cutting saturated fat that has proven not only to be unsuccesful, but counterproductive and against the evidence. Similar to the interventions from the 70s, the WHO is already recomending that 10% or less of calories come from saturated fats to prevent heart disease.
As part of this process, there is a public consultation that will be open until 1 June 2018. I believe it is a good opportunity to let the WHO see the evidence that supports the consumption of saturated fats and to participate in a process that will have a huge impact on public health policies around the world.
If you also think that saturated fat guidelines can be improved, this might be your chance to be heard.
The draft of the new guidelines can be found here.
To comment in the public consultation, you need first to download a Declaration of Interest form, either DOC or PDF, fill it in and upload it to the WHO website when registering to comment.
I will post a summary of the WHO guidelines on saturated and trans fats, and I am also working in this google doc to create a reply that people can use to comment. Anyone that wants to edit can send me a message through Twitter @gemagoldie or an email at gemagoldie at gmail dot com.
For reference, evidence and links, this is a reply on the US Dietary Guidelines by Dr. Zöe Harcombe Ph.D.
