Day 254 - 22 May 96 - Page 16
1 to it was: "It is like most things in life. If you have
2 excesses of it, it is not usually too good for you". Then
3 I put the question: "And over 30 per cent of energy from
4 fat in your diet is considered excessive by everybody's
5 standards", and that is the point I am asking, so that we
6 have got a qualification of what he considers to be
7 "excessive".
8
9 MR. JUSTICE BELL: It was not clear to me when you put the
10 question whether it was directed at risk of cancer, or
11 alleviation of cancer, or just generally sound physician's
12 advice. Put the question again.
13
14 MS. STEEL: (To the witness): You talk about: "It is like most
15 things in life. If you have excesses of it, it is not
16 usually too good for you", what are you talking about in
17 terms of fat being an excess amount of fat in your diet?
18 A. That is a very difficult question to answer. Certainly
19 I think if one had something like 60 per cent of fat in
20 one's diet, that would be considered excess, but if you
21 look at countries like Greece and ----
22
23 MR. JUSTICE BELL: You mean 60 per cent of energy in fat?
24 A. Yes, indeed. But if you look at countries like Greece
25 where they have a very high fat intake, they have a very
26 low incidence of the diseases that we are talking about,
27 and, again, to some extent, the figures they are quoting
28 about the proportion of energy percentage, of energy which
29 could come from fat, these are best guesstimates the people
30 have come up with. They are not hard and fast figures that
31 one can say are absolutes by any means.
32
33 MS. STEEL: Are you saying that you say to your patients, "Keep
34 the fat in your diet below 60 per cent of the energy
35 intake"?
36 A. No, I did not say that.
37
38 MR. JUSTICE BELL: He has not said that, and every time you
39 start a question "so"-- I have said this to Mr. Morris --
40 it sounds as if you what you are putting logically follows
41 from what the witness has just said.
42
43 MS. STEEL: No, because I think it is completely illogical.
44
45 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Do not start the question with "so" then.
46
47 MR. MORRIS: I think part of the problem is that it seems to us
48 that Mr. Dr. Arnott is only going over the same things he
49 was saying last time.
50
51 MR. JUSTICE BELL: He is at the moment because he is being asked
52 about the same matters.
53
54 MR. MORRIS: He was asked about if there was anything new in the
55 last couple years and there has not been anything new in
56 the last couple of years.
57
58 MR. JUSTICE BELL: What I suggest you do is cross-examine him.
59 If you join issue with anything in his statement which
60 might relate to matters arising from the two publications
