Executive Summary of Report (71K PDF File)
Project Description
The Life Sciences Research Office undertook a study to summarize the publicly available scientific evidence and methods used to establish dietary guidelines for the intake of cholesterol based on the relationship of diet and heart disease.
Sponsor
The American Egg Board (Park Ridge, IL) sought to understand why consensus committees with access to the same published literature reach different conclusions and construct different recommendations for cholesterol intake.
Process
LSRO compiled public health guidelines for cholesterol intake issued by Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States, and described the processes and key evidence used by the national health councils to arrive at dietary guidelines. The scope of the review was limited to that data cited by recommending bodies. As detailed in the report, LSRO examined the history and development of U.S. dietary guidelines for cholesterol intake by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (i.e., the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, the Surgeon General), the Institute of Medicine, and the American Heart Association. It compared the evidence and methods used to set the current U.S. guidelines with approaches taken by Health Canada, the U.K. Science Advisory Committee on Nutrition, the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia and New Zealand, and the joint WHO/Food and Agriculture Organization reports. LSRO conducted this study in conjunction with independent, multidisciplinary expert scientists, who reviewed the report. The report was reviewed and approved by the LSRO Board of Directors.
LSRO Report
The report, "The Scientific Evidence and Approach Taken to Establish Guidelines for Cholesterol Intake in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States" is available to the public for purchase through the LSRO online bookstore.
