Macro partitioning
A long-term dietary intervention reducing total fat to 20% of calories and increasing fruits, vegetables, and grains does not significantly reduce the risk of coronary heart disease, stroke, or composite cardiovascular disease in postmenopausal women.
For postmenopausal women, simply switching to a low-fat diet (20% of calories) with more fruits, vegetables, and grains is not enough to prevent heart disease or stroke on its own. While it may slightly improve cholesterol and blood pressure, it does not significantly lower cardiovascular event rates. More targeted interventions focusing on specific risk factors are likely necessary.
Over a mean of 8.1 years, a dietary intervention that reduced total fat intake and increased intakes of vegetables, fruits, and grains did not significantly reduce the risk of CHD, stroke, or CVD in postmenopausal women and achieved only modest effects on CVD risk factors, suggesting that more focused diet and lifestyle interventions may be needed to improve risk factors and reduce CVD risk.
Why this rating
Large-scale, long-term randomized controlled trial (n=48,835) with high statistical power for the primary outcome.
Source
Low-Fat Dietary Pattern and Risk of Cardiovascular Disease
Barbara V. Howard et al. · JAMA · 2006
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