Not just chewing the fat: Britons eating 20 percent too much fat

London – Though America is known as the fast food nation, recent reports suggest that it is not the only one.

According to England’s Food Standards Agency, Britons are eating 20 percent more fat than dietary guidelines recommend. The announcement came as part of a new advertising campaign from the agency, which features a commercial illustrating the damaging effect of saturated fat. In the forty second ad, a jug of saturated fat is poured down a kitchen sink, resulting inevitably in a clogged drain. The parallel is then drawn to consuming too much saturated fat, which can lead to similarly damaging results in the body.

This new ad campaign has been spurred by the reality that heart disease is the number one killer in England, a disease which will claim the life of one in every three Britons. The hope is to raise awareness to the epidemic-like proportion of heart disease, which the agency hopes will not only reduce the number of deaths, but will also save the economy substantial money.

The agency further recommends that to help cut fat, consumers should opt to grill more often, cut off the fatty portions of meat, and substitute vegetable oil spreads instead of butter.