FSA phase 2 sat fat

The British Dietetic Association (BDA) welcomes phase 2 of the Food Standards Agency saturated fat campaign launched on Monday 18th January 2010, and calls on the public to seek out local activities run by dietitians across the country offering practical and simple steps to reduce the amount of saturated fat in their diets and get the balance right.

Phase 2 of the campaign, consists of press, poster and radio advertisements, centring on positive simple tips to help people cut down on their saturated fat intake. It will feature a new print advertisement that will encourage people to think about switching to 1% fat milk - and these posters will be prominent outside supermarkets.

Dietitian and British Dietetic Association spokesman, Sue Baic said: “Eating too much saturated fat is a recognised risk factor for increased blood cholesterol levels which can put people at greater risk of heart disease. The campaign fits in with the work of dietitians particularly in community health and we welcome the opportunity to work with the FSA to raise awareness of the simple steps that people can take to reduce the amount of saturated fat in their diet and also, importantly, to get the right balance of healthy fats in the diet.

“As registered dietitians we fully support the FSA’s campaign. Our training means we are experts in translating nutrition science into practical advice for people to follow and adopt which is the aim of the campaign. Dietitians play a crucial role in the delivery of campaigns to improve public health nutrition, and PCTs and Health Boards should look to the dietitians working for them to lead on implementing relevant local activities that can be sustained.”

The BDA’s top 5 tips to get the fat balance right are:

1. Look for hidden saturated fat in cakes, biscuits and pastries as well as ready meals. Check out the label and choose products that are low in fat (less than 3% or 3g per 100g) and low in saturated fat (less than1.5g per 100g is low; more than 5g per 100g is high; anywhere in between is medium).
2. Choose a handful of nuts, some fruit or ‘100kcal snack packs’ rather than pastries, biscuits, cakes, chocolate and deep fried savoury snacks.
3. Be smart about cooking and spreading with fats – grill, dry fry or choose vegetable oils and margarines and low fat spreads with a high monounsaturated or polyunsaturated and low saturated fat content -such as olive, sunflower or rapeseed (vegetable) oil in place of lard , ghee or butter.
4. Cut down on fatty meat products such as sausages, meat pies and pasties. Look for lean cuts of meat, trim off the fat or remove the skin and choose fish (all types) or vegetarian alternatives to meat instead like soya.
5. Choose low-fat dairy products instead of full fat varieties such as 1% milk.

Visit the BDA’s website www.bdaweightwise.com for free resources, meal plans, and strategies to improve your nutritional health.

The BDA has a series of fact sheets designed to help people make sense of a whole range of nutrition issues, including fact sheets on “Eating for a healthy heart” and “Fat - getting the balance right”, which are free to download at www.bda.uk.com/foodfacts.

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