By Kelvin Mithamo
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Cardiovascular Diseases (CVDs) are the leading causes of mortality worldwide. Kenya is no exception, according to the Kenya National Guidelines for Cardiovascular Diseases Management (2024), CVDs account for 13percent of total deaths and 25percent of hospital admissions in the country. The major risk factors for CVDs are unhealthy diets, physical inactivity, and tobacco and alcohol use.
Among these unhealthy dietary factors, are trans fats, which increase the risk of death by 34percent, coronary heart disease deaths by 28percent, and coronary heart disease by 21percent.
Industrially produced trans fats (iTFA) are formed in an industrial process that adds hydrogen to vegetable oil, converting the liquid into a solid and resulting in partially hydrogenated oil (PHO).
According to WHO frying oil at high temperatures also leads to modest increases in trans-fat concentrations. However, this amount of trans fat generated is low (up to 2–3 percent) when compared with the amount of trans fat in PHO.
Trans fat has no known health benefits. Implementing strict regulations on iTFA is a crucial step toward managing and reducing the burden of CVDs in Kenya and the globe at large. In 2018, WHO launched the REPLACE package which is a guideline to eliminate TFAs from the food supply. In the package, WHO recommends the following two best-practice alternatives: 1) a mandatory national limit of 2 grams of industrially produced trans-fat per 100 grams of total fat in all foods; and 2) a mandatory national ban on the production or use of partially hydrogenated oils (a major source of trans fat) as an ingredient in all foods.
Experiences in several countries in Europe, North, South America, and in Africa where countries like South Africa, Egypt, and Nigeria have successfully implemented policies to limit or eliminate iTFA in food production through enforcing iTFA limit of 2g per 100g of total fat in foods since 2011, 2022 and 2023 respectively which has led to significant reductions in CVD-related deaths and set an example for other African countries.
Denmark was the first country to implement a strict iTFA regulation in 2003, effectively reducing industrial iTFA in food products to negligible levels. Following this intervention, Denmark recorded a significant decline in CVD-related deaths. Similarly, in the United States, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) declared TFAs unsafe for human consumption in 2015, leading to their near-total elimination from food supplies.
The Kenya National Guidelines for Cardiovascular Diseases Management (2024) highlights that poor dietary habits, including high intake of unhealthy fats, are among the leading modifiable risk factors for CVDs.
Given that CVDs are largely preventable through proper nutrition and lifestyle changes, regulating the presence of iTFA in food products is an essential preventive measure. Under CAP 254 on Food, Drugs and Chemical Substances Act, as a country we have a regulation through Legal Notice 115 of 2015 which needs to be strengthened to regulate iTFA.
This presents an opportunity for us as a country to follow suit by developing and enforcing a strong regulatory framework to safeguard public health and potentially set an example for other countries in the EAC region. Beyond health benefits, regulating iTFA can also reduce the economic burden of CVDs on Kenya’s healthcare system. Treating CVDs is costly, often requiring long-term medication, hospital stays, and surgical interventions.
By reducing the prevalence of CVDs through dietary regulations, the country can save on healthcare costs and improve productivity by ensuring a healthier workforce. This is according to research done by The George Institute for Global Health and the International Institute for Legislative Affairs (IILA) where researchers modelled the impact of policy intervention limiting industrially produced trans-fat to less than two per cent of total fats in the Kenyan food supply.The study projected Should this limit on trans fat as recommended by the WHO, our country as per this model, could save approximately 50,000 lives and over 100,000 new cases of heart disease prevented over the lifetime of the population. This is as every dollar invested there would be a retutn of 20 dollars, amounting to a net savings of 271 million USD (~28 billion KES).
In conclusion, the evidence is clear—industrially produced trans fats pose a serious threat to public health, significantly increasing the risk of cardiovascular diseases and related deaths. The success of countries that have implemented strict iTFA regulations demonstrates that eliminating these harmful fats is not only possible but also lifesaving. Kenya now stands at a crucial crossroads, with the opportunity to take decisive action to protect its citizens from preventable heart diseases. If we enforce robust regulations that limit or eliminate iTFA, as a nation we can reduce the burden of CVDs, alleviate healthcare costs, and improve the overall well-being of citizens. A healthier nation means a more productive workforce, a stronger economy, and most importantly, a longer and better quality of life for all Kenyans. Now is the time to act—because every heartbeat matters.
Kelvin Mithamo is the Assistant Programme Officer – Health Governance
For more info: kmithamo@ilakenya.org
