Papers on fat in the diet recognized for impact

Two papers on the effect of fat in the diet, involving researchers at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, have been named to the top 10 list of the most impactful publications in 2015 by the American Heart Association’s Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health Council.

Frank Hu, professor of nutrition and epidemiology at Harvard Chan School, was senior author for both papers.

One paper—“Saturated Fats Compared With Unsaturated Fats and Sources of Carbohydrates in Relation to Risk of Coronary Heart Disease: A Prospective Cohort Study,” published October 6, 2015 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology—found that people who replace saturated fat in their diets with refined carbohydrates do not lower their risk of heart disease, but that those who replace saturated fats with unsaturated fats or whole grains do lower their heart disease risk.

Other Harvard Chan School authors of the study included Yanping Li (lead author), Adela HrubySylvia Ley, Dong Wang, Stephanie Chiuve, Laura Sampson, Eric Rimm, and Walter Willett.

The other paper—“Effect of low-fat diet interventions versus other diet interventions on long-term weight change in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis,” published in the December 2015 issue of The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology—found that low-fat diets were no more successful than higher-fat interventions in helping people achieve and maintain weight loss for periods longer than one year.

Lead author of the study was Deirdre Tobias, a researcher in the Division of Preventive Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School. Other Harvard Chan School authors Mu Chen, JoAnn Manson, David Ludwig, and Willett.

Learn more about the studies

Butter is not back: Limiting saturated fat still best for heart health (Harvard Chan School release)

Low-fat diet not most effective in long-term weight loss (Harvard Chan School release)