Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the written answer by Lord Markham of 17 May (HL4521), whether the recommended limit of 30g a day of fat contained in the Eatwell Guide is also based on the Committee on Medical Aspects of Nutrition Policy (COMA) 1994 report, and if so whether the guidance should be updated in the light of further, more up-to-date research.

The Government’s dietary recommendations are based on robust assessments of the scientific evidence by the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) and its predecessor, the Committee on Medical Aspects of Nutrition Policy (COMA). The Government’s advice on a healthy, balanced diet is encapsulated in the United Kingdom’s national food model, the Eatwell Guide.

The current Government dietary recommendation is that the total fat intake of the population should not exceed 35% of total energy from food. This would equate to a total fat intake of no more than 78 grams a day for women and 97 grams a day for men, based on a total daily calorie intake of 2000 kilocalories a day for women and 2500 kilocalories a day for men aged 19 to 64 years old.

This recommendation is based on evidence outlined by the COMA in its 1991 report, Dietary Reference Values for Food Energy and Nutrients for the United Kingdom, a copy of which has been placed in the House of Lords Library, due to the document size. This is further supported by recommendations made to reduce the risk of coronary heart disease in the COMA’s 1994 report, Nutritional Aspects of Cardiovascular Disease, a copy of has also been placed in the House of Lords Library, due to the size of the document.

Recommendations on saturated fat were updated in SACN’s 2019 report, Saturated fats and health, a copy of which is attached, which recommended that the dietary reference value for saturated fats remains unchanged, specifically that the populations average contribution of saturated fatty acids to total dietary energy be reduced to no more than about 10%. This recommendation applies to adults and children aged five years old and older. The report also recommended that saturated fats are substituted with unsaturated fats. It was noted that more evidence is available supporting substitution with polyunsaturated fats than substitution with monounsaturated fats.

It was noted that ‘this recommendation is made in the context of existing UK Government recommendations for macronutrients and energy’. The Eatwell Guide recommends that the average man should have no more than 30 grams of saturated fat a day and the average woman should have no more than 20 grams of saturated fat a day.

At its horizon scan meeting in June 2022, the SACN considered a paper on a potential approach to any future work on other fatty acids. The SACN agreed that omega-3 fatty acids were an area of high priority, particularly because of the recent evidence questioning the potential benefits of fish oils for some outcomes, such as cardiovascular disease. Members agreed to keep a review of omega-3 fatty acids as a high priority on the watching brief.

The SACN considered this again at its horizon scan meeting on 9 October 2024 and agreed to add omega-3 fatty acids to the SACN’s work programme when capacity allows. The meeting papers for the horizon scan meetings are available on the SACN webpage, in an online only format.