Last week, researchers conducting a long-awaited study on the effectiveness of low-fat diets dropped a bombshell: Eating a low-fat diet does not appear to reduce the risk of getting breast cancer, colorectal cancer, or cardiovascular disease.
The $415 million study, part of the Women’s Health Initiative, followed nearly 49,000 women aged 50 to 70 over eight years. It was the largest, longest, and best-designed study ever to test the merits of a low-fat diet.
To help sort out what to make of the new research, Globe columnist Judy Foreman and staff writer Carey Goldberg posed questions about the study to five leading experts on diet, heart disease, cancer, metabolism, and preventive medicine.
They all agreed on one thing: Although the study failed to prove a strong link between low-fat diet and better health, “it’s not really license to head for the butter,” as Dr. Michael Thun, chief epidemiologist for the American Cancer Society, put it.
They all pointed to other research though often less definitive than the new study suggesting that the most heart-protective diet includes lots of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, fish, and “good” fats like omega 3 fatty acids and olive oil.
The new study “is probably the final nail in the coffin for low-fat diets,” said Dr. Walter Willett, chairman of the department of nutrition at Harvard School of Public Health. “But people should not conclude that diet is not important. The right dietary choices can make a huge difference in long-term well-being. . . . It’s just this particular diet that doesn’t matter.”
Other excerpts from their responses:
Q: After considering the new data, what diet would you tell your patients to follow?