The U.S. Soy industry is working to present correct, science-based information about soy and correct misinformation that has arisen.
Earlier this month, a University of California – Riverside researcher and her assistant presented research they conducted comparing commodity soybean oil, high oleic soybean oil and coconut oil.  The study was a feeding trial for mice, was not peer reviewed and has not been published to date.  The results suggested that commodity soybean oil causes obesity in mice, high oleic soybean oil is only slightly better and coconut oil – which is high in saturated fats – was significantly better.  The reports from the university’s public relations department concentrated on referring to high oleic soybean oil as genetically modified, despite the commodity oil also originating from biotech seed.  At this time, two agriculture publications and numerous online sources have sought more information on the story.  No major food or business publications have taken note of the study.
The U.S. Soy industry has been working with industry partners as well as industry oil experts to clear up any misinformation from this study and to correct misinformation that has been presented and present additional information where relevant.
Mouse studies on health are used to create hypotheses and are not indicative of what happens in human beings.  Mice, in particular, metabolize fats very differently than humans so the results of this study cannot be translated to human diets.
Soybean oil is low in saturated fat, contains no trans fat, and is high in poly- and monounsaturated fats. It's also the principal source of omega-3 fatty acids in the U.S. diet, and the primary commercial source of vitamin E.
According to recommendations of the American Heart Association for good health, the majority of the fats that should be consumed are monounsaturated or polyunsaturated and they recommend eating foods containing monounsaturated fats and/or polyunsaturated fats rather than foods that contain saturated fats and/or trans fats.  This recommendation is the opposite of the study’s suggested results.
The researcher also refers to genetically modified soybean oil versus conventional soybean oil.  The researcher did not source non-GMO commodity soybean oil, so both commodity and high oleic oil were likely GMO.