§ Mr. Moonmanasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what evidence his Department has from other developed countries concerning medical opinion relating to the connection between saturated fats and coronary heart disease; and 229W which medical authorities abroad have recommended a relative increase in the amount of polyunsaturated fat in the diet.
§ Dr. Owen13 expert committees from eight countries outside the United Kingdom have published reports on dietary fat and coronary heart disease and all but one have recommended a relative increase in the amount of polyunsaturated fat in the diet. All these reports have been carefully considered by my Department. As I explained in my reply to my hon. Friend on 23rd June—[Vol. 913, c.562]—the Committee on Medical Aspects of Food Policy recently considered this subject and re-endorsed the advice of the Advisory Panel on Diet in Relation to Cardiovascular Disease published in 1974. The Advisory Panel Report was made in the context of the United Kingdom diet which does not show any major regional differences. Paragraph 6.7 of the report states:
The unexplained existence of regional differences in the death rate from IHD within the United Kingdom (para. 2.2.6) behoves one to be cautious about the application to Great Britain as a whole of the results of any dietary trials, and particularly of those made in other countries".