WASHINGTON, June 20: Saturated fats should be less than one per cent of total calories even for healthy people, warns the American Heart Association. In its first official guidelines for minimising the risk of heart ailment, the association recommends lifestyle changes, including an emphasis on getting exercise and not smoking.

“A healthy diet and lifestyle are the best weapons...to fight cardiovascular disease....It is the overall pattern of the choices you make that counts,” the association advises.

A panel of specialists in nutrition and heart disease reviewed more than 90 studies to finalise the dietary advice released on Monday.

The guidelines are for healthy people ages two and older.

“Rather than slavishly counting calories and grams of fat, people should try something simpler: getting in the habit of cooking with healthier oils, and balancing calories consumed with calories burned through exercise,” said Alice Lichtenstein, a Tufts University nutrition expert who chaired the guidelines panel.

Trans fats, or trans fatty acids such as partially hydrogenated oils, are in many cookies, crackers, breads, cakes, French fries and other fried foods. They contribute to heart disease risk by raising LDL, or the bad cholesterol.

“Total fat reduction alone is not the only answer. It is important what kind of fat you eat,” said Linda Van Horn, a Northwestern University dietician who helped draft the guidelines.