Low Fat Foods Have Little Benefit For Health And May Contain More Sugar, Study Claims
Low fat foods have little benefit for health and can actually be more detrimental because they contain more sugar than ‘normal’ versions, according to a study carried out by Which?
The Study revealed that 6 out of 10 people eat low fat or lighter versions of popular foods every week because they think that they are better for them; however, most people are unaware of the difference and in many cases, the difference in calorie content is negligible. Furthermore, many of the lighter versions of standard foods were still labelled red in the traffic light system, which demonstrates how healthy a food is.
Which? claimed that a snapshot of low fat foods, which included 12 different products, suggested that there was little benefit in choosing lighter and low-fat foods; for example, a standard McVitie’s chocolate digestive contains 85 calories and a lighter version of the same biscuit contains 77 calories.
The study also found that many foods that were labelled low-fat and branded as healthy options contained more sugar than standard versions; the Tesco low fat yoghurt contained more calories and more sugar than a standard Activia yoghurt.
Chief executive of Which?, Richard Lloyd, said that consumers are being lulled into buying healthy foods on false pretences, as there is actually very little difference between light and standard products. Which? advises consumers to read the labels carefully and use the traffic light system, which makes it easier to interpret the ingredients and fat and sugar content of foods and drinks.
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