MINERVA PLACE! Diet Foods That Make You Fatter
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By: Rachel Bender
Walk into any grocery store, and you’ll see aisles brimming with low fat and fat-free foods. Yet obesity remains a growing epidemic.
Nearly one-third of all American adults are obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. So where’s the disconnect?
Part of the problem is that the label “low fat” or “fat-free” creates a health halo around products, leading dieters to think they have free license to eat all they want—guilt-free and without consequences.
Studies show that when a low fat label is put on snack foods, people eat up to 50 percent more than those exposed to food labels without the low fat claim, according to research conducted by the Brian Wansink, Ph.D., at the Cornell University Food and Brand Lab.
What’s more, the study participants assumed the low fat foods contained fewer calories than they actually did. The study found that people underestimated the calorie counts of “low fat” M&Ms and granola by 48 percent and 50 percent, respectively.
Overweight people were particularly vulnerable to the low fat label. When they were given M&Ms with a low fat label, these participants in the study ate 60 more calories than healthy weight participants did.
“Many may see ‘low fat’ or ‘fat-free’ labels as invitations to indulge,” says registered dietician Elisa Zied, author of Nutrition at Your Fingertips. “But just because something is low fat or fat-free doesn’t mean it’s also calorie free or that you should have a free-for-all. Portions matter, and I would much rather see someone eat a small portion of a high calorie or high fat food that they enjoy, instead too much of something with fewer calories, less fat, less sugar, or any of the above if it’s not as satisfying.”
Here are some of the worst culprits that can undermine your weight loss efforts—and how to protect your waistline:
Fat-free cookies
It’s amazing how the words “low fat” or “fat-free” in front of “cookie” can make you forget that you’re still eating a sugar-laden, calorie-dense treat. And like potato chips, it’s nearly impossible to stop at just one, causing the calorie counts to climb, according Zied. “When people eat a lower calorie and/or lower fat forms of food—be it cookies, ice cream or some other sort of treat—they may think that it’s okay to have more,” explains Zied. “But in fact, a lot of time the lower fat substitutions have a similar calorie count to the higher fat version.”
In some cases, they’re worse than the real deal. “They fill those products with salt and sugar to make them palatable, and some of them actually have more calories than the regular version,” notes Cheryl Forberg, R.D., chef and nutritionist for NBC’s The Biggest Loser.
Your slimming strategy: If you can’t tame your sweet tooth with a healthier alternative such as tasty piece of fresh fruit, have one or two real cookies instead. “Or if you want more healthful cookies, make oatmeal or oatmeal raisin cookies so that you’ll at least get some fiber and whole grain from oatmeal, a touch of fiber from the raisins, and antioxidants,” says Zied. “You can also add some nuts like walnuts to the cookies to get a dose of omega-3 and other healthful fats.”
Diet soda
This is the signature beverage of countless dieters, but it can actually cause you to gain weight.
One 10-year study found that people who drank diet soda had a 70 percent greater increase in waist circumference than those who didn’t sip diet soda. Those who consumed two or more diet sodas per day found their waist circumferences were 500 percent greater than non-drinkers nearly a decade later.
Research shows that the artificial sweeteners in diet sodas (as well as sugar) actually boost your appetite. That may be because the body expects a certain amount of calories when consuming anything sweet. It may trigger your appetite to make up for the lack of calories in artificial sweeteners, according to a 2010 study published in the Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine.
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