Dietary fat reduction achieved by increasing consumption of a starchy food--an intervention study

To test t he hypothesis that increased consumption of foods in rich in starch, such as breakfast cereals, will enable a substantial reduction in the percentage dietary energy derived from fat.

Parallel experimental design, with matched subjects allocated randomly to an intervention or a control group.

Free-living subjects (mean age 20 y), undergraduate students at a college for higher education.

Sixty-two enrolled, 59 completed the study; 7 d weighed intakes at baseline, 4 weeks and 12 weeks.

The intervention group were required to eat 60 g breakfast cereal daily with semi-skimmed milk. Pre-weighed portions of three types of cereal were distributed without charge at the beginning of each week of the study; subjects were reimbursed for the cost of milk used. No other dietary advice was given.

At baseline, total energy intake and percentage energy from macronutrients was very similar in both the intervention and control group. After four weeks of intervention there was a significant reduction in % energy from fat (-5.4%) in the experimental group, maintained at the 12 weeks follow-up. There was a corresponding rise in energy from CHO: a significant increase of 5.5% after four weeks had reached 6.5% by 12 weeks. Total energy remained virtually unchanged, indicating a replacement of fat energy by carbohydrate energy. These changes were not found in the control group.

A simple dietary intervention to increase consumption of breakfast cereal led to a 5% reduction in % dietary fat energy, with a beneficial effect on micronutrient intakes. The results support the case for positive advice to increase consumption of complex carbohydrate, as a strategy for dietary fat reduction in the wider population.