Use low-fat yogurt and herbs on baked potatoes in
place of butter or sour cream.
Top pasta with vegetables instead of oil, butter, or
cheese.
To reduce fat in meals when eating out:
Choose items that are broiled, roasted or baked.
Avoid fried foods.
Select fish or chicken instead of beef or pork.
Ask for salad dressing, butter, and gravy on the
side.
Fill up on salad with non-fat dressing at the salad
bar.Function
Low fat diets work as weight loss diets because
they reduce calorie intake. The difficulty with low fat
and very low fat diets is that they are difficult to
maintain. Often when people go off these diets they
gain weight back, then diet again, then gain weight
back in a pattern ofweight cycling. This happens with
many diets, but some research shows that people who
go off low fat diets tend to binge or overeat more than
people who go off more moderate diets.
In the 1990s and early 2000s, the public was
encouraged to eat a low fat diet not just to lose weight,
but also to lower cholesterol and triglyceride levels.
This, the public was told, would protect heart health
and help prevent cardiovascular disease. This blanket
statement is now in dispute. (See research and general
acceptance below.)
Low fat diets are effective in improving certain
digestive symptoms. A general low fat diet is usually
prescribed first, and then fine-tuned with the aid of a
physician to best treat the individual’s digestive
problems.
Benefits
People who go on low fat diets can benefit in these
ways:
They lose weight.
Their health usually improves.
Their risk of developing cardiovascular disease may
decrease.
They get relief from unpleasant gastrointestinal
symptoms.Precautions
Young children, pregnant women,breastfeeding
women, and the elderly are not good candidates for
very low fat diets. These groups have special nutri-
tional needs that are unlikely to be met by very low
fat intake.
Low fat diets are difficult to maintain for long
periods. They may increase the risk of yo-yo dieting
or weight cycling.Risks
Although many low fat diets have been shown to
be healthy, individual diets vary, and some low fat
diets are not nutritionally balanced.Research and general acceptance
Many health claims have been made for low fat
diets. One is that they help people lose weight better
than other diets. However, studies have shown that
low fat diets are no better at helping people lose weight
and keep that weight off than regular low-calorie diets.
The total amount of calories has more effect on weight
loss than the particular foods those calories come
from.
For many years, the public was told that low fat
diets helped protect against breast cancer, colon can-
cer, and heart disease. In a landmark study of 49,000
women between the ages of 50 and 79 that was pub-
lished in February 2007 in theJournal of the American
Medical Association,women were divided randomly
into a group that ate a low fat diet and another group
that had no restrictions and ate the average America
diet. Researchers found no significant difference in the
rates of breast cancer, colon cancer, or heart attack
and stroke between the two groups. They concluded
that there was no justification in recommending a low-
fat diet to the public as protection against these dis-
eases. This study is particularly important because it
was large, well-designed, independent (It was fundedQUESTIONS TO ASK THE
DOCTOR Why is a low fat diet better for me than a regular
calorie-reduced diet?
Does this diet pose any special risks for me that I
should be aware of?
Do I need to take a dietary supplement while I
am on this diet?
What are my risk factors for cardiovascular
disease and how will this diet affect them?
Is this diet appropriate for my entire family?Low-fat diet