Aren't both sugar and saturated fat problemtic, and complementary in contributing to CVD?
Yes. Sugar (and all of its downstream phenomena - diabetes, insulin resistance, the ease in which sugar adds calories without satiation signals) is well established to contribute to CVD. Long-chain (animal based) sat fat and trans fat is also well established to contribute to CVD. The high calorie density of fatty foods plays a big role, as does the overall palatability and "eatability" of low fiber, high fat, high s…
Of course, you can get overweight by eating too much sugar, but it's really about not eating too many calories long-term, regardless of the source.
And of course, refined sugar isn't healthy at all and consumption should be kept to a minimum, outside of exercise.