Modern Chronic Disease Epidemics and How Low-Fat Advice Went Wrong

Peter sets out Australian figures: seven in 10 men, half of women and more than a quarter of children are overweight or obese. About 280 Australians a day are diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, nearly two million have it, and its complications cost 14.6 billion dollars. One in three has fatty liver disease, more than half of children have tooth decay, and 4.2 million have cardiovascular disease. Exercise levels have changed little in 40 years, so he points to diet. Obesity rates rose sharply after low-fat guidelines arrived around 1980, with the food pyramid recommending six to 11 servings of grains. He traces this to Ancel Keys' view on saturated fat winning over John Yudkin's warnings about sugar. Low-fat products filled with sugar, ultra-processed foods and seed oils followed. He challenges three ideas: the diet-heart hypothesis, citing reviews showing no link between saturated fat and heart disease and the PURE study of about 130,000 people linking carbohydrate intake with mortality; the claim that all calories are the same; and everything in moderation.