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Introduction of low-fat food:
Researchers at Cornell University recently found that eating so-called "low-fat" fast food will only lead people to indulge their diet more. Compared with eating ordinary food, you will get more calories in this way.
Researchers say that when food labels say "low-fat" foods, it implies that people can still increase their calorie intake, and such foods are particularly attractive to overweight people. Low-fat labels may mislead people to equate "low-fat" with "low-calorie" and give people reasons to eat more.
In this study, the calorie of low-fat fast food is only 15% lower than that of conventional food. But foods labeled with low fat are enough to give consumers the illusion that all low-fat foods are healthy, which makes overweight people flock to such fast food. Even people of normal weight are often tempted by it.
A comparative study of the experimental results of the two groups of subjects found that these seemingly harmless low-fat fast foods actually brought more calories to the diet. This shows that foods labeled with low fat can make people relax, so they eat more and they no longer feel guilty about eating too much.
In the past few decades, Americans have always regarded fat as the enemy of weight and health. This kind of worry is not unreasonable. In 1960s, scientists discovered that saturated fat in red meat and dairy products would increase the cholesterol content in human body, leading to cardiovascular diseases.
Therefore, in the "food guide pyramid" promulgated by the US Department of Agriculture, fats and edible oils are "shelved" and listed as "restricted foods". Smart food producers immediately followed suit and played "low-fat cards" one after another. It seems that as long as it is labeled as "low fat", it is a healthy food.
But the theory that "low fat is good for health" has not stood the test of time. In the past 20 years, Americans have been reducing high-fat foods in their diets, lowering their cholesterol levels and smoking less and less, but the incidence of heart disease has not decreased as expected.
References:
Baidu encyclopedia low-fat food