Ahhh...the mysteries and tricks of the trade advertising low-fat foods. Most consumers don't realize that very often the fat in a low-fat food is replaced by sugar. Recent studies show that - when taking the low-fat food snack choice during movies out or at holiday receptions - people will eat an average of 28% more calories.
If you're already overweight, look out. The studies also show that obese people (under the same circumstance) consume up to 45% more calories!
Lead researcher Brian Wansink (Ph.D.), in the book, "Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think" says, "People don't realize that low-fat foods are not always low-calorie foods," says Wansink. Fat is often replaced with sugar. Low-fat snacks are an average of 11% lower in calories, but people wrongly believe they are around 40% lower.
The complete set of research studies, published in the November issue of the Journal of Marketing Research, was cited by the Economist as one of two significant noteworthy studies published that month. It is titled, "Can 'Low-Fat' Foods Lead to Obesity?"
For dieters, there's also clear message. As Wansink advises in the book Mindless Eating, "Stick with the regular version, but eat a little bit less. It's better for both your diet and your taste buds."
My experience with "low-fat" foods has lead me to come to a couple of conclusions. The first is that the low-fat food generally tastes like it. Yuk! The second is, basically, five pounds of salad and dressing is still five pounds of food and calories.
The first part of a perfect diet for everyone is eat less. Less volume. Less fat. Most importantly, less calories. There's just no way around it. Forget all the food labels. Just read and understand the caloric value of the foods you eat. Consume fewer calories than you did yesterday. Repeat (within reason).
Guard against the "low-fat" label and the holidays.
