Day 256 - 04 Jun 96 - Page 57
1 Q. Perhaps the reason, Professor, and you will correct me if
2 I am wrong, is this, is it not: Governments make
3 recommendations nowadays about diet, they never used to but
4 they do nowadays, and one of the things they have been
5 impelled to focus on is the percentage of energy intake
6 which we should derive from fat, both total fat and
7 saturated fat, do they not?
8 A. Yes.
9
10 Q. It is not really very surprising, is it, if people who are
11 doing research in this field should feel it useful perhaps
12 to find out whether those recommendations are sensible or
13 not?
14 A. Sure.
15
16 Q. It is not a worthless exercise, this kind of study, is it?
17 A. Up until this point in time, it has not been generally
18 -- most studies have been worthwhile doing.
19
20 Q. If this study's, and it is only one of many, as we all
21 know, it is a fairly recent one, conclusions are broadly
22 correct, there would be no reason why women should
23 seriously consider reducing their fat intake much below
24 about 35 per cent from the point of view of risk of breast
25 cancer derived from fat, would they? Is that a bad
26 question? Shall I say it again?
27 A. Please.
28
29 Q. If you take this study in relation to the question of how
30 much fat you should have in your diet, no woman need bother
31 about having 35 per cent of her energy from fat need she?
32 A. Why do you say that? I am not clear why you would say
33 that.
34
35 Q. Because there is no significant relationship between the
36 consumption of 35 per cent fat in the diet to breast
37 cancer?
38 A. Because they separated out some of major effects of fat
39 and therefore attenuated the real relationship.
40
41 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Is that at the end of the day the difference
42 between someone who holds your point of view and someone
43 who would put the point of view which Mr. Rampton is
44 putting to you now, that which view you prefer depends upon
45 whether you think it is a valid exercise to take out these
46 confounding factors, as one body of opinion would describe
47 them, or whether you say, as you appear to me to be
48 saying: "Well, no, that is not a realistic exercise because
49 some of the factors and the ones you think would be the
50 most significant risk factors are themselves diet related
51 to some extent anyway". Is that the watershed between the
52 two points of view, or is that too simple an approach?
53 A. No, it is correct what you said. That certainly
54 distinguishes to some extent the difference of opinion that
55 I have with my colleagues, this question concerning
56 adjustment and adjusting ways, some of the effect.
57
58 Another distinction that we have in the field, and actually
59 this distinction now seems to be melting to some extent,
60 and that is the fact that when we talk about low fat diets,
