Does a low-fat, low-calorie diet help maintain a healthy weight?
New study of almost 7,500 people across seven years shows that quality and source of fats has important implications for long-term health and weight
Q: Are low-fat, low-calorie foods best for maintaining a healthy weight?
The straight answer: No.
The facts: The standard recommendation for the prevention and treatment of obesity is a reduced-fat diet and increased physical activity, and many health organisations including the World Health Organisation and Hong Kong’s Department of Health recommend a limit of 30 per cent fat for total energy intake.
But a study published recently in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology journal suggests current health guidelines that recommend a low-fat, low-calorie diet create unnecessary fear of healthy fats – in particular those present in a Mediterranean diet, which have known health benefits.
Accumulating scientific evidence suggests that total fat content is not a useful measure of harms or benefits of food, and that fats from nuts, fish and vegetable oils that are rich in phenolic acids (dietary phytochemicals that work as antioxidants) are healthier than fats from meat and processed foods.
“More than 40 years of nutritional policy has advocated for a low-fat diet but we’re seeing little impact on rising levels of obesity,” says lead author Dr Ramon Estruch, CIBER OBN-University of Barcelona, Spain. “Our study shows that a Mediterranean diet rich in vegetable fats such as olive oil and nuts had little effect on bodyweight or waist circumference compared to people on a low-fat diet.”