Fat and carbohydrate recommendations - Have they changed?

Looking across a timeline from the late 19th century to today, Barbara Schneeman looks at how scientific research into fat and carbohydrate consumption has informed international government policy and guidelines. 

We have moved from a late 19^th and early 20^th century focus on the prevention of communicable disease through clean food preparation and the effects of vitamin deficiency on public health, to an understanding in the 1960s that excess consumption was leading to the growth of non-communicative diseases.  

As we have learned more about the relationship between food nutrition and health, the US Recommended Daily Allowances, as well as the WHO’s global food guidelines, have changed. We are now recognising the various components in fat and carbohydrates – and more work is needed to establish what makes a reasonable dietary pattern across the food groups.