Day 030 - 03 Oct 94 - Page 19

     
     1        the world.  The references to the report themselves are
     2        later on in the back of the book, but, as I say, these are
     3        reports commissioned either by authoritative medical and
     4        scientific bodies or by governments, not only in western
     5        countries but elsewhere by now.  Usually, being
     6        scientifically and medically orientated, the reports have
     7        tended to be concerned with nutrients as distinct from
     8        food.  In the last ten or 15 years that tendency has been
     9        less noticeable.
    10
    11        I mention that because if you look at the top half of the
    12        table, you will see that of the hundred reports, for
    13        example, 81 recommend that everyone will do well to
    14        consume less saturated fats and 85 less total fats; within
    15        the case of saturated fats, no reports disagreeing; in the
    16        case of total fats, one report disagreeing.  That, in
    17        effect, is illustrating what is meant by consensus.  There
    18        is not 100 per cent agreement; there is consensual
    19        agreement, which is as good as you will get in the
    20        biological sciences.
    21
    22        If you look at the bottom half of the table, given the
    23        explanation I have just mentioned, that a number of these
    24        reports make no reference to foods as distinct from
    25        nutrients at all, although most published in the 1980s and
    26        1990s do.  You will see there what the reports have to say
    27        about food as distinct from nutrients.  For example, 66
    28        recommend that in order to reduce your risk of western
    29        diseases, like coronary heart disease, like breast and
    30        colon cancer, you will do well to consume more vegetables;
    31        71 vegetables and 66 fruit, with no disagreements.  Fatty
    32        meat and meat products, 48 reports specify fatty meat and
    33        meat products, and say everyone will do well to consume
    34        less of them with one disagreement, and so forth.
    35
    36        Let me say again, it is not claimed that every single time
    37        an expert report of any nature has been commissioned by
    38        any reputable body they have come to the same conclusion.
    39        Of course not.  This is a consensual agreement, which, as
    40        I say, is as good as you can get.
    41
    42        Secondly, of course, it was not claimed that even in the
    43        case, for example, of sugar and tooth decay (which I think
    44        is not directly to do with this case) every single
    45        qualified scientist or researcher takes the same view.
    46        There will always be some disagreement.
    47
    48   Q.   Would you just explain what the high risk column
    49        represents on that graph, on that chart?
    50        A.  Yes.  There was a tendency among earlier reports (and 
    51        occasionally this comes up in reports now) to limit 
    52        dietary recommendations to people who are defined as high 
    53        risk; for example, someone who is clinically defined as
    54        obese or someone clinically defined as being at high risk
    55        of coronary heart disease; those suffering from angina
    56        have very high blood cholesterol, and so forth.
    57
    58        But, as you can see, the great majority of reports issue
    59        recommendations on a population basis.  The inference from
    60        that is that everyone in relevant countries such as this