New research shows urgency to act on Nigeria’s trans fat elimination policy

Significantly reducing trans fat levels in Nigeria’s food supply could prevent approximately 10,000 heart disease deaths and save US$90 million (12 billion Naira, ₦) in health costs over 10 years. New research from the George Institute for Global Health on the health and economic benefits of implementing the country’s trans fat removal policy BMJ Global Health.

In 2023, Nigeria will become the second country in Africa after South Africa to adopt a best-practice trans fat removal policy and is currently working on implementing regulations. A cost-effectiveness model assessed the impact of limiting industrially produced trans fats to less than 2% of the total fat of all foods, fats and oils in Nigeria’s food supply.

The study also found that the policy could prevent or postpone 67,000 cases of heart disease in the first 10 years. This equates to a total of 260,000 deaths and 480,000 heart diseases prevented over the course of a person’s lifetime.

Dr Matti Markland, lead author and senior research fellow at the George Institute, said: “Although Nigeria’s trans fat intake may be quite low compared to many other countries, our analysis shows that trans fat intake in Nigeria “This shows that the policy still has the potential to save thousands of lives in just one year.” It will take years. ”

The analysis found that the policy was meant to reduce costs and improve health while generating net savings. The total savings in healthcare costs could reach approximately US$90 million (₦12 billion) in the first 10 years and approximately US$520 million (₦185 billion) over a person’s lifetime.

Implementing the policy will cost governments and the food industry an estimated US$17m (£6.2bn) over the first 10 years and US$26m ($9.4bn) over a person’s lifetime. For every government dollar invested, this equates to a US$66 reduction in his medical costs.

“Implementation costs are only a fraction of the significant savings that trans fat restriction can bring to health systems, reflecting findings from another study we led in Kenya last year,” Dr. Markland added.

Industrial trans fats are a group of harmful substances produced during partial hydrogenation, a process that hardens vegetable oils into solid fats that can be used in processed, fried, and street foods. These are also well-known risk factors for heart disease, but can be replaced with healthier alternatives without affecting food quality.

Globally, industrial trans fats are responsible for approximately 500,000 premature deaths from heart disease each year, primarily in low- and middle-income countries. However, only 53 countries, most of them high-income countries, have best-practice trans fat policies in place, exposing around half of the world’s population to health risks.

Professor Dike Oji, Head of the Cardiovascular Research Unit at the University of Abuja and senior author of the study, said: “Governments need to reduce the burden of cardiovascular disease, which puts the health of populations, care services and economies around the world at risk.” We must act quickly to address the rise in Africa We hope that the growing evidence supporting the elimination of trans fats will encourage other African countries to emulate Nigeria’s best practice policies. ”

The World Health Organization (WHO) has cited the elimination of industrial trans fats as an effective intervention for the prevention of non-communicable diseases such as heart disease. The group said its top two best practice policies are setting a mandatory limit of 2g of trans fat per 100g of total fat in all foods and banning the production and use of partially hydrogenated oils. Earlier this year, the WHO revised its goal to virtually eliminate industrial trans fats globally by 2025.