Seventeen million deaths a year are caused by cardiovascular disease linked to foods containing saturated and trans fats. New WHO proposals call on people everywhere to reduce their consumption of fatty, artery-clogging foods.
The World Health Organization (WHO) wants adults and children to reduce their consumption of these fats by 10% of their total daily energy requirement.
The UN agency also wants trans fats - found in baked and fried foods and cooking oil - to account for just 1% of what people need to eat every day.
The good news is that there are healthier alternatives to foods laden with "bad" saturated and trans fatty acids that are often labeled "hydrogenated" - an indication that hydrogen has been added to them to make them easier to use.
According to Dr Francesco Branca, Director of Nutrition at WHO, "if we really want to get rid of the dangers of excess trans fats, there must be energetic action on the part of governments to ensure that manufactured products do not use hydrogenated vegetable oil ... In countries where trans fats have been eliminated, the consumer doesn't even notice". he added. "So producers can use another fat with the same property and you can have your croissant that contains no trans fats".
Dr Branca pointed out that since the UN agency first published advice on saturated and trans fats in 2002, significant progress has been made in raising awareness of the threat they pose, particularly in wealthier countries.
But although Western Europe has now "almost eliminated" the industrial use of trans fats, and Denmark has banned it outright, Dr Branca warned that poorer regions face major challenges in dealing with the threat.
These include several Eastern European countries, as well as India, Pakistan, Iran, numerous African states and Argentina.
In some cases, Dr. Branca warned that trans fat levels in some street foods are 200 times higher than the recommended daily intake.