Local trans fat restrictions help hearts
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* Lindsey Wahowiak

When communities restrict trans fats in foods, residents have fewer hospitalizations for heart attack and stroke.

According to a study conducted by researchers at the University of Chicago Medicine and Yale School of Medicine and published April 12 in *JAMA Cardiology*, restaurant trans fat bans have made a significant impact on residents’ heart health.

Researchers compared outcomes from 2002 to 2013 for people living in New York counties with and without the restrictions. They found that after three or more years of a ban being enacted, people living in the affected area had a 6.2 percent decline in hospitalizations for stroke and heart attack compared with those who did not live in areas with trans fat bans.

Trans fats are unsaturated fatty acids, typically found in fried foods, chips or baked goods. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a nationwide ban on partially hydrogenated oil in foods that goes into effect in 2018. It will eliminate dietary trans fat in both restaurants and grocery stores.

“It is a pretty substantial decline,” said Eric Brandt, MD, the study’s lead author and a clinical fellow in cardiovascular medicine at Yale School of Medicine in a news release. “Our study highlights the power of public policy to impact the cardiovascular health of a population.”

For more information, visit [www.jamanetwork.com/journals/jamacardiology](http://www.jamanetwork.com/journals/jamacardiology).

*   Copyright The Nation’s Health, American Public Health Association