CDC: U.S. blood trans-fatty acids down

ATLANTA, Feb. 8 (UPI) -- Blood levels of trans-fatty acids in white adults in the U.S. population decreased by 58 percent from 2000 to 2009, health officials found.

Christopher Portier, director of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention′s National Center for Environmental Health in Atlanta, said the findings were the first time researchers have been able to measure trans fats in human blood.

CDC researchers selected participants from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey years 2000 and 2009 to examine trans-fatty acid blood levels before and after the Food and Drug Administration′s 2003 regulation, requiring trans-fatty acids listed on the label.

During this period, some local and state health departments took steps to help consumers reduce their daily consumption by requiring restaurants to limit their use of trans-fatty acids in food and increase public awareness campaigns about the health risks associated with trans-fatty acids.

"The 58 percent decline shows substantial progress that should help lower the risk of cardiovascular disease in adults," Portier said in a statement. "Findings from the CDC study demonstrate the effectiveness of these efforts in reducing blood trans-fatty acids and highlight that further reductions in the levels of trans fats must remain an important public health goal."

The current study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, provides information for white adults only, but additional CDC studies are under way to examine blood trans-fatty acids in other adult race/ethnic groups, children, and adolescents, Portier added.