Did FDA Regulations Cause a Drop in America's Transfat Levels?
Americans may be at less risk of heart attacks today because of labeling requirements by the Food and Drug Administration.
A new study has found that transfat levels in the blood of white Americans dropped by 58 percent from 2000 to 2009, report the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal Health Blog and a press release by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The study was intended to measure the change in transfat blood levels after the FDA announced in 2003 that it would require transfat labeling on nutrition labels. The FDA warning spurred many food makers to eliminate transfats in favor of healthier oils.
According to the Post, “The decline, unusually big and abrupt, strongly suggests government regulation was effective in altering a risk factor for heart disease for a broad swath of the population.”
