Put down those doughnuts and french fries. Trans fat bans may just work. That’s what a research letter published in the latest issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association suggests. Levels of the four major trans fatty acids in white adult Americans fell 58% from 2000 to 2009, according to the research by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That was a decade during which public criticism and government regulation led to the removal of mountains of trans fats from the food supply. The sharp decrease “may lead to a decrease in risk for cardiovascular disease in this subpopulation,” the research letter concludes. Responding to public concern, the Food and Drug Administration in 2003 said it would require trans fat amounts to be included on nutrition labels — a requirement that sent many food manufacturers scurrying to substitute healthier oils. Several state and local health departments have also banned or restricted trans fats in restaurant foods. To determine the effect of regulation and other moves, the CDC researchers measured the

amount of trans fatty acids in the blood plasma of 229 white Americans in 2000 and 292 in 2009. The adults were part of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, a nationally-representative government analysis of the health of the U.S. population. The trans fat study is the first to measure changes in trans fatty acid levels in the U.S. population, said lead author Hubert Vesper of the CDC. Other studies have measured amounts of trans fats in food. It’s just a start, though, Vesper cautions. The researchers studied samples only of white Americans in two separate years. More data are also needed to assess what the true health effects are of certain levels of trans fatty acids in humans. The findings “encourage us to really look for other population subgroups,” he said. “We’re working on other races and ethnicities to get a comprehensive picture.” We at the Health Blog will stay tuned. Photo: Bloomberg News

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As Trans Fats Left Food Supply, Levels in the Body Dropped