From the study:
The 1961 AHA advice to limit saturated fat is arguably the single-most influential nutrition policy ever published, as it came to be adopted first by the U.S. government, as official policy for all Americans, in 1980, and then by governments around the world as well as the World Health Organization. It is worth noting that the AHA had a significant conflict of interest, since in 1948, it had received $1.7 million, or about $20 million in today’s dollars, from Procter & Gamble (P&G), the makers of Crisco oil [2]. This donation was transformative for the AHA, propelling what was a small group into a national organization; the P&G funds were the ‘bang of big bucks’ that ‘launched’ the group, according to the organization’s own official history [7]. Vegetable oils such as Crisco have reaped the benefits of this recommendation ever since, as Americans increased their consumption of these oils by nearly 90% from 1970 to 2014 [8].
A short history of saturated fat: the making and unmaking of… : Current Opinion in Endocrinology, Diabetes and Obesity (lww.com)
The link from payment to the recommendation is not iron clad but is an important conflict of interest. I am not convinced that the $1.7 million in 1948 led to the 1961 recommendation. But, businesses do give out large grants, like that, potentially for influencing the organization.
Related: Mary G. Enig – Wikipedia
