Fat-Free Foods Can Make You Fat
September 4, 2014Forty years ago, congressional hearings were held to bring attention to the possible links between diet and disease. Senator George McGovern summoned two expert witnesses, one who believed that diet changes could reverse heart disease, and another who touted harmfulness of the over consumption of fat. At the time, evidence existed that foods high in saturated fat could elevate LDL cholesterol, however, there were many complexities scientists did not yet understand, nor was there adequate data. The hearings led to the first set of American dietary guidelines.
"There have been a number of studies done and there's been no benefit for low-fat diets to lead to better weight loss, and there's no benefit for low-fat diets to lead to less disease." - Mary Flynn, a professor of medicine at Brown University
Once fat was made the villain, Americans focused on replacing fats in their diets with carbohydrates. While this was suggested in the guidelines, the types of suggested carbohydrates were whole grains, fruits and vegetables.
But this message was lost in translation. What did Americans hear? Fat is bad; carbs are good.
The food industry picked up on the new trend and started producing fat-free foods, but when fat was removed from foods it was replaced with sugar. So while addressing the issue of heart disease by reducing fat in foods, replacing fat with sugar increased the possibility of developing obesity and diabetes.
However, the misinterpreted guidelines may not be completely to blame for the current national health status, as there have been many changes to the America way of life during the forty years since the guidelines were implemented. Reduced heart disease could be due to increase use of cholesterol lowering statin drugs, and increase in obesity and diabetes could be linked to more sedentary lifestyle.
Studies have also found that foods with low-fat on the label actually resulted in increased consumption, up to 50% more as compared to foods without low-fat labeling. Study participants reported that low-fat labels caused them to perceive portion sizes to be larger, and believe calories to be fewer.
Tips to avoid the low–fat trap
- Read nutrition labels! Pay attention to the calorie count of foods, particularly low–fat foods
- Understand what health claims like "low–fat," "reduced fat," etc. really mean
- Be aware of serving sizes. In addition to portions listed on packages, you can also learn to recognize appropriate portion sizes for non-packaged foods
- Use measuring cups to serve out portions
- Put servings of snacks in bowels instead of mindlessly eating from the package
- Measure out single servings of on–the–go snack foods and put them into baggies when you bring them home from the store
Source: Cornell University Food & Brand Lab
Photo credit: Mark cc
References:
Aubrey, A. (2014, March 28). Why We Got Fatter During The Fat-Free Food Boom. NPR The Salt.
Wansink, B. & Chandon, P. (2006). Can “Low Fat” nutrition labels lead to obesity? Journal of Marketing Research, 43(4), 605-617.
