Fat chance for the bons viveurs

What a week for bons viveurs. They must be shouting "roll on Christmas!" like never before. First came the conclusion that alcohol - only a couple of drinks daily, mind you - enhances the body. Then scientists said sex could prolong life. A seemingly stupendous cap to it all has come with the finding that fatty foods might not be so bad after all.

As much of the nation prepares to sit down tomorrow to the most calorific meal of the year, guilt may be eased by the finding in a US study that fatty foods (you can include much of the junk variety) normally associated with high-risk heart disease and dying young, actually reduce the chances of stroke.

It suggests that eating more, not less, fat has a dramatic effect on lessening stroke risk, especially if a person discriminates between the type of fat consumed. For each 3 per cent increase in total fat consumption as a percentage of energy intake, there is a 15 per cent decrease in stroke risk.

Dr Matthew Gillman, with a research team from Harvard Medical School, Boston, did caution that follow-up studies were needed. "Nonetheless, our results raise the possibility that restriction of fat intake among residents of Western societies . . . does not decrease and could increase overall risk of ischaemic stroke."

Ischaemic stroke is caused by blockage of a blood vessel in the brain or neck and accounts for about 80 per cent of all strokes. A third of all major strokes are fatal and another third result in disability. The finding emerged from a study of stroke incidence and fat consumption in 832 older men.

A reduction of stroke incidence was also associated with consumption of certain fat types. One of these was saturated fat, found in meat and dairy products, usually deemed the worst kind, as it is strongly linked with heart disease. The other was monounsaturated fat, which is found in oilseed rape, nut and olive oils.

But polyunsaturated fat from fish and vegetable oils - widely viewed as the healthiest type - did not appear to reduce stroke risk, says the study, published yesterday in the Journal of the American Medical Association. It adds weight to the view that a Mediterranean-type diet, low in saturated fat but high in monounsaturated fat, may be best.

Some festive restraint may, nonetheless, be prudent. A spokesman for the Stroke Association in Britain (where 110,000 people a year suffer strokes) said there was good evidence that obesity increased stroke risk. "However, the evidence of any link between stroke risk and intake of individual dietary components is unclear. On-going studies may provide clarification. In the meantime, there is no reason to change the general dietary advice which forms part of many health education programmes."