Trans fat is one of the major causes of increased risks of heart diseases. Bangladesh ranks among 15 countries with the highest number of CVD deaths caused by trans fat, PROGGA said in a press release.

Every year 277,000 people die in Bangladesh due to heart diseases where 4.41 percent of the deaths are attributable to trans fat. Globally 250,000 people die of heart diseases annually per year due to trans fat.

Partially Hydrogenated Oil (PHO) is the prime source of trans fat, which is known as dalda or bonospoti oil locally.

In a recent study conducted by the National Heart Foundation Hospital and Research Institute, 92 percent of sampled PHOs from Dhaka city contain TFA levels above the 2 percent limit set by the World Health Organization (WHO).

The sampled PHOs even showed a staggering high concentration of TFA, 20.9g per 100 grams, which is more than 10 times the WHO-set threshold.

Excessive consumption of TFA increases the risks of deaths from heart diseases as well as heart failure.

Bangladesh is yet to introduce any law or regulation to protect public health from the harms of TFA. However, the Bangladesh Food Safety Authority (BFSA) has taken a policy decision on TFA regulation and formed a technical committee composed of relevant experts.

On the occasion of World Heart Day Progga (Knowledge for Progress) Executive Director ABM Zubair said that courtiers across the globe are uniting to eliminate trans fat.

“Elimination of trans fat is a cost-effective initiative that will contribute to reducing morbidity and death risks due to heart diseases as well as help in achieving the SDG 3.4 related to NCDs,” he said.

This year’s theme for World Heart Day is “Use Heart to Beat Cardiovascular Diseases”.

Also read: WHO seeks Bangladesh’s urgent action to avoid deaths by trans fat intake