American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol 55, 675-681, Copyright © 1992 by The American Society for Clinical Nutrition, Inc

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Reducing total dietary fat without reducing saturated fatty acids does not significantly lower total plasma cholesterol concentrations in normal males

SL Barr, R Ramakrishnan, C Johnson, S Holleran, RB Dell and HN Ginsberg
Department of Medicine, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY 10032.

Forty-eight healthy male students ate an average American diet (AAD) with 37% of calories from fat and 16% from saturated fatty acids for 3 wk. During the next 7 wk, one-third of the students continued to eat the AAD, one-third switched to a 30%-fat diet with 9% saturated fatty acids (Step 1 diet), and one-third switched to a 30%-fat diet with 14% saturated fatty acids (Sat diet). The Step 1 group had a significant reduction in plasma total cholesterol (TC) (0.36 +/- 0.37 mmol/L) compared with the AAD group (0.07 +/- 0.39 mmol/L) and the Sat group (0.08 +/- 0.25 mmol/L). The Sat group did not differ from the AAD group. Changes in low-density-lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol paralleled changes in total cholesterol. High-density-lipoprotein cholesterol fell significantly in the Step 1 group (0.11 +/- 0.08 mmol/L) compared with the AAD group. Plasma triglycerides did not differ between groups at the end of the randomized periods. In summary, reduction of dietary fat intake from 37% to 30% of calories did not lower plasma total and LDL cholesterol concentrations unless the reduction in total fat was achieved by decreasing saturated fatty acids.

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