Prof Walter Willett of Harvard University started an interdisciplinary master nutrition program by delivering a lecture in the UNSA Ceremonial Hall on Wednesday, 11 October 2017.
With the words of welcome to professor Willett, UNSA Rector Prof. Dr. Rifat Skrijelj said that the University of Sarajevo, by launching a study program in the field of nutrition, wished to give its modest contribution to humanity, and emphasized that Nutrition as a new master program at the University of Sarajevo started with the enthusiasm of Doz. Dr. Irzada Taljic.
In his lecture Prof. Willett spoke about nutrition and the effect of food on the human body - growth, development, function, concentration, and efficiency during all stages of the life cycle in health and illness. When speaking on the topic of "Nutrition and Health: A Progress Report", Professor Willett presented, among other things, the effects of trans and saturated fats on blood lipids, dietary fat types and the risk of coronary heart disease, and relations between fat types and overall mortality.
Professor Willett has underlined that the rate of coronary heart disease can be significantly reduced by proper diet, but that it is impossible to achieve it by replacing saturated fat with carbohydrates; that we should abandon the recommendations regarding the energy percentage gained from fat and avoid pejorative references to "fat" and "fatty foods", and that nutrition tips should focus on replacing saturated and trans fat with vegetable oil, whereby we need to keep present N-3 fatty acids.