Recent proposals by officials in New York and Chicago would outlaw the use of trans fats in some restaurants, part of an anti-obesity movement that suddenly is getting a commercial boost.
Though the campaign against trans fats might seem an example of nanny state run amok, there is every good reason to cheer this development.
Trans fats – key ingredients in French fries and other fast-food items – are demonstrably bad for your heart.
Fast-food chains have been the biggest purveyors of trans fats, and it is encouraging to see several companies vying to get ahead of the regulatory curve.
KFC announced this week it would no longer fry chicken in oil containing trans fats. Burger King said it will test trans fat-free cooking. Wendy’s already has switched. McDonald’s, the notable holdout, has been working on trans fat-free recipes for three years.
The transformation of trans fats into pure evil has come in the last decade as scientists have learned how the artificially created oil limits the body’s ability to regulate cholesterol. Trans fats are a cholesterol double whammy, raising the bad and lowering the good.
Harvard University researchers estimate that up to 228,000 heart attacks – up to 19 percent of coronary disease – a year could be prevented by a reduction of trans fats in American diets.
But a good public health idea does not automatically translate into widespread acceptance. Trans fats – created through a chemical process involving the partial hydrogenation of oils – are popular for a reason. They help food stay fresh longer and, well, they just taste good.
New York health officials have proposed banning restaurants from serving food containing trans fats; the Chicago proposal is similar except that it exempts restaurants with less than $20 million in sales.
The move to reduce trans fats in our diets is an integral part of efforts to stem the rise of obesity. But trans fats can be a hard habit to break. In England, the government in September banned from school cafeterias the kinds of foods that most kids love: French fries, burgers and deep-fried processed meats.
Something of a backlash developed, and a cadre of mothers known as “meat pie mums” were said to visit schools with contraband chow.
The reaction is indicative of the uphill battle that good-nutrition initiatives face. In America, after all, a side order of fries is practically a God-given right.
However, the elimination of trans fats in our diets is a public health issue that deserves attention whether it’s by industry acquiesence, which is preferable, or by regulatory fiat if necessary.
