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Will Europe's agricultural policy damage progress on cardiovascular disease?

BMJ 2005; 331 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.331.7510.188 (Published 21 July 2005) Cite this as: BMJ 2005;331:188
  1. Karen Lock, research fellow (karen.lock@lshtm.ac.uk)1,
  2. Martin McKee, professor1
  1. 1 European Centre on Health of Societies in Transition, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London WC1E 7HT
  1. Correspondence to: K Lock

    Trends in cardiovascular disease in Europe have shown an east-west divide for over 30 years. Rapid declines in the European Union contrast with stagnant or rising trends in Russia and central and eastern Europe, with some notable exceptions, such as Poland and the Czech Republic, where rates have fallen since the 1990s.1 2 These improvements are attributed primarily to improved nutrition,1 2 which can be traced to the economic transition that followed political change in the late 1980s.

    In Poland many food subsidies, in particular for animal fats, were abolished. Wider availability and lower prices for unsaturated fats and fruits caused rapid dietary changes. Zatonski and Willett explore the impact of these changes, suggesting …

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