Even a Diet of Fat-Free Foods Can Pose A Weighty Problem

Even a Diet of Fat-Free Foods Can Pose a Weighty Problem

You may want to put down that bag of fat-free potato chips: Eating fat-free or low-fat foods won't necessarily make you lose weight, according to the American Heart Association.

Consumers put too much faith in products labeled fat-free at the expense of making smarter decisions about portion size, diet and exercise, according to a statement on fat substitutes and health published Tuesday in Circulation, the journal of the American Heart Association.

Fat substitutes are chemical compounds incorporated into foods to give them the qualities of fat, like moisture retention and texture. More than 90% of American adults reported eating low or reduced-fat food and beverages, many of which contain fat substitutes, according to a 1998 survey by the Calorie Control Council, an international nonprofit association representing the low-calorie and reduced-fat food and beverage industry. The most popular of these products are milk, cheese, salad dressings, potato chips, mayonnaise, margarine, ice cream and frozen desserts.

"When we make food choices, we don't always use logic," says the author of the statement, Judith Wylie-Rosett, professor of epidemiology and social medicine at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, N.Y. "You can't eat a whole pint of ice cream even if it is low-fat and feel good about it."

While fat substitutes may allow consumers the occasional splurge on frozen yogurt, they "are not an effective strategy on their own for weight control," she says.

The heart association's statement comes at a time when Americans are eating less fat -- the proportion of calories in their diets that come from fat has decreased since the 1950s -- but obesity is still widespread.

In the 1990s, the federal government encouraged the food industry to create more than 1,000 reduced-fat processed-food products a year. The industry surpassed that goal, marketing everything from fat-free milk to low-fat Ben and Jerry's Blond Brownie Sundae.

Now, with the number of overweight people increasing, the heart association decided a change in approach was in order. "More products shouldn't be the goal. The goal should be eating more naturally low-in-fat products like fruits and vegetables," Prof. Wylie-Rosett says.

Her advice for consumers: Turn the product over and look at the nutrition label. Pay attention to serving size and calories, since reduced-fat versions of products often have the same or even more calories than their full-fat versions.

The association also examined the health effects of 13 kinds of fat substitutes. Those made from carbohydrates or proteins were found to have little effect on digestion metabolism of vitamins and nutrients. But the statement raises concerns about olestra, a fat-derived fat substitute found in snack foods such as potato chips. Olestra affects the absorption of vitamins A, E and K.

Prof. Wylie-Rosett suggests people eating snacks containing olestra limit their portions to one ounce, and check the number of servings per bag, since "the jury is still out on the long-term health effects."

Suzette Middleton, senior nutritionist for Procter & Gamble Co., which makes olestra under the brand name Olean, says the company never suggested eating foods with fat replacements was a "cure all" for obesity. But, in the context of lifestyle changes including increased exercise and increased consumption of fruit and vegetables, "if someone needs to reduce the amount of fat in their diet, they're a viable option."

From a safety standpoint, Ms. Middleton says, the company's own surveillance, as well as clinical studies indicate people "can feel confident and comfortable eating savory snacks containing olestra the way they would normally eat chips."

One snack-food company that uses olestra is Frito-Lay, a unit of Pepsico Inc., with its line of Wow Snacks, including Doritos and Lays potato chips. Wow was launched with great fanfare but is considered a niche product today. The company is considering scaling back marketing of the Wow line and is promoting a nonolestra reduced-fat product in one test market but has reached no conclusions.

Olestra has been the focus of controversy since its debut six years ago. Consumer activists raised concerns early on about the substitute, with claims that it could cause unpleasant side effects, such as abdominal cramping.

-- Anne Marie Chaker contributed to this article.

Write to Leila Abboud at leila.abboud@wsj.com¹ and Ann Carrns at ann.carrns@wsj.com²

Updated June 11, 2002