Few readers liked the idea of regulating sugar, a food that some health officials recently said should be regulated because of its deleterious effects on human health.
In the health community there’s wider support for stronger regulations of trans-fatty acids, the consumption of which has been shown to increase heart disease.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration took the step in 2003 of requiring trans-fatty acids to be listed on nutritional information panels on food products, and there were widespread public campaigns to encourage consumers to limit their consumption of trans-fatty acid. Some cities and states (such as California) required restaurants to limit their use.
Now a new study (see abstract) suggests those efforts have borne fruit. Published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the study found that blood levels of trans-fatty acids in white U.S. adults decreased by 58 percent from 2000 to 2009.
“Findings from the CDC study demonstrate the effectiveness of these efforts in reducing blood TFAs and highlight that further reductions in the levels of trans fats must remain an important public health goal,” said Christopher Portier, director of CDC’s National Center for Environmental Health.
The study does not provide a causal link, but it does suggest that strong labeling guidelines, public health campaigns and some regulations can limit the consumption of harmful foods.
You can probably expect these kinds of techniques to now be aimed at foods like sugar and salt.