“We don’t want to give the impression that they help with weight loss.”Manufacturers claim they don’t promote such products as slimming foods, but by adding brightly coloured “Low in fat” or “Fat-free” labels, they do play on our dietary preoccupations.”These are not slimming products, but that is how people take them,” says Ms Cullum. “If [...]
“We don’t want to give the impression that they help with weight loss.”Manufacturers claim they don’t promote such products as slimming foods, but by adding brightly coloured “Low in fat” or “Fat-free” labels, they do play on our dietary preoccupations.”These are not slimming products, but that is how people take them,” says Ms Cullum. “If something is low in fat, people see that as a licence to eat more But low in fat doesn’t mean it contains no fat. However, many manufacturers also increase the amount of sweet ingredients, such as sugar, jam or honey – high in calories and not good for your teeth.A spokesperson for McVitie’s admitted that a Light Digestive contains more sugar than a normal one, and Entenmann’s doesn’t hold back on sweeteners. However, there is a difference of only four calories between the two.To make such products, fat must be left out of the manufacturing process.
Sometimes water is used in its place, or fat replacements such as carbohydrate- based gums that give bulk These are not necessarily bad for us. McVitie’s Light Digestives contain 2.4g of fat per biscuit, compared to 3.2g in normal digestives. But just because it contains less fat, doesn’t mean it has fewer calories. Exotic meat such as ostrich and kangaroo is promoted as being relatively low in fat, and the Meat and Livestock Commission recently ran a series of adverts, including one saying that a pork chop contains less fat than cottage cheese.True or false? The big problem is perception. People see the tag “low- fat” and assume a particular food is diet-friendly.
In July, a range of virtually fat-free soups hit the shelves. Although neither chain was prepared to say how much their low-fat ranges sold annually, both describe their impact as “significant”.Even foods naturally low in fat, such as bran cereals, are now being actively advertised as low-fat alternatives. Despite its waxy flavour, sales in the UK are worth about pounds 21m a year. Marks & Spencer has special “Lite” and reduced-fat ranges, and Tesco has a “Healthy Eating” equivalent.
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