Could certain vegetable and seed oils, which are touted as “healthy” substitutes for saturated fats actually be making Americans fatter?

That’s the contention of a noted health expert, who contends that the current health recommendations to consume oils made from vegetable, seeds and nuts may actually be fueling the nation’s obesity crisis, instead of the other way around.

While the nation’s obesity rates continue to skyrocket, many explanations have been raised – except one, notes James J. DiNicolantonio, Pharm D., a cardiovascular researcher at Saint Luke’s Mid America Heart Institute.

“Experts have advanced several dietary culprits as possible explanations for these alarming trends. But one interesting possibility has received little attention: some of the oils we were advised to eat,” says Dr. DiNicolantonio, in an article that appears in Forbes magazine, and is co-written by Sean C. Lucan, M.D., a family practitioner.

The American Heart Association recommends that Americans substitute these oils in place of saturated fats, like butter. The AHA contends that these are “healthy fats,” and recommend that Americans consume five-to-10 percent of their daily calories from them in order to lower the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Others, including the Harvard School of Public Health, agree, and also contend that numerous studies also provide evidence that these unsaturated fats also benefit blood pressure and glucose levels as well.

Such “healthy oils are made from linoleic acid, a polyunsaturated omega-6 fatty acid, and are the primary oils in soybean, sunflower, safflower, corn oil and canola, as well as oils made from nuts, such as walnut oil.

In their essay, however, Drs. DiNicolantonio and Lucan say that because of such recommendations, the consumption of linoleic acid has steadily risen.