Meat fat madness: conflicting patterns of meat fat consumption and their public health implications

From 1979 to 1985, the University of Arizona's Household Refuse Analysis Project recorded packaging and food debris in household refuse to track the purchase of red meat and the discard of separable fat in sample neighborhoods with different income and age characteristics. From 1979 to 1982, the discard rate of meat fat remained relatively constant; in 1983, the rate of discard of meat fat nearly doubled and has remained stable in all neighborhoods measured. During the same period, the purchase of red meat with separable fat (steaks, roasts, and chops) declined, while the purchase of red meat with hidden, non-separable fat (hamburger, lunch meats, sausage, and bacon) held constant or increased. Thus, two "fat" trends have been identified at the household level: first, the purchase of less red meat with separable fat and the discard of a greater percentage of that fat, and second, the purchase of a greater percentage of red meat with substantial quantities of non-separable fat. Whether these seemingly contradictory choices are being made by a fully informed public is unclear. It is suggested that health promoters need to communicate the fat content of all types of red meat, especially those with hidden fat, more clearly.