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Report says food manufacturers often add sugar to low-fat products
If you think a low-fat food means that it's also low in calories - think again! If you reduce or remove fat from a product, you need to replace it with another ingredient.
Otherwise the texture and flavour will be unacceptable to the consumer.
Low- or reduced-fat foods often have more sugar added to them, which, of course, contributes calories to the final product.
A study published in the Journal of Marketing Research has found that consumers often over-eat low-fat foods because they feel less guilty about eating them. During a university open day, people were offered unlimited amounts of identical chocolates that were labelled as either 'regular' or 'low-fat'.
Researchers found that those who chose the low-fat version  helped themselves to a third more chocolate (equivalent to 28 per cent more calories) than those who helped themselves to the regular  sweet.
TIPS
1 Read the ingredients list on the food label
If sugar or fat is the first or second ingredient listed, then  that product is not going to be low in calories.
2 Watch your portions
Low-fat foods appear to have a 'halo' effect, but it's better to eat smaller quantities of 'regular' foods than to over-indulge in low-fat foods.
Fruit every day helps  keeps asthma away
Teenagers who don't eat enough fruit have a greater chance of  developing asthma, according research published in Chest: The Cardiopulmonary and Critical Care Journal. More than 2,000 children aged 17-18 from the US and Canada completed a questionnaire about their diet, exercise and smoking habits before taking part in a lung function test.
Results showed that at least a third of the students were not eating the daily recommended amounts of fruit, vegetable, vitamins A and E, beta-carotene, and omega-3 fatty acid. Teens who had the lowest intakes of these nutrients were more likely to have poor lung function and at a higher risk of asthma, particularly students who smoked. Twenty-five per cent of those taking part in the study said they smoked on a regular daily basis.
Bottom line
A balanced diet is important to maintain health, and especially in the lungs. Make fruits and vegetables a daily habit and include as snacks between meals to ensure you meet the five-a-day recommendation.
Low-fat riddle/Fat(g)
1 tbsp regular peanut butter 95 calories 8
1 tbsp low-fat peanut butter 95 calories 6
1 regular chocolate chip cookie 48 calories 2.3
1 low-fat chocolate chip cookie 45 calories 1.5
125g regular fruit yoghurt 136 calories 3.8
125g low-fat fruit yoghurt 98 calories 1.4
40g pack regular potato crisps 212 calories 13.7
40g pack low-fat potato crisps 183 calories 8.6
1 medium-grilled regular sausage 56 calories 3.8
1 medium-grilled low-fat sausage 46 calories 2.8
Source: Compiled from manufacturers information and McCance and Widdowson's The Composition of Foods, 6th Edition. The Royal Society of Chemistry, 2000



Look carefully before buying low-fat foods