Taking the Fat Out of Food : Reducing Dietary Fat

by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

(Page 3 of 3)

Caprenin, another Procter & Gamble product, is a 5-calorie-per-gram fat substitute for cocoa butter in candy bars. A petition seeking FDA's affirmation that Caprenin is GRAS was filed in 1991.

Emulsifiers are fat-based substances that are used with water to replace all or part of the shortening content in cake mixes, cookies, icings, and vegetable dairy products. They give the same calories as fat but less is used, resulting in fat and calorie reductions.

Other fat replacers are being developed, according to the Calorie Control Council and other organizations. They include DDM (dialkyl dihexadecylmalonate), a fat-based substance that is not absorbed into the body and can be used in frying and baking. Frito-Lay Inc. has been studying this fat substitute since 1986, although it has not yet petitioned FDA for approval. Also on the horizon is a fat substitute made by combining starches or gums with small amounts of oil. Opta Food Ingredients Inc. received an exclusive license from the U.S. Department of Agriculture last February for the process, called Fantesk. This fat replacer would give foods the taste and texture of regular fat but provide less than 0.5 grams of fat per serving.

Reducing Dietary Fat

Can these fat replacers help consumers make positive dietary changes? Can they help those who are overweight lose weight?

It may be too early to say, and studies to date give varying answers. For example, in a study of lean non-dieting men, one group ate breakfasts of conventional fat foods, while the other ate olestra-containing foods. Those who ate the olestra-containing foods made up their usual daily calorie intake by eating more carbohydrate-containing foods. The study, sponsored partly by Procter & Gamble and published in a 1992 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (Volume 56), suggested that a diet of reduced-fat foods can help reduce fat intake without affecting total calories.

Fat intake also was decreased in a study of 96 men and women "habitual snackers." One group was fed potato chips prepared with olestra, while the rest ate potato chips prepared with conventional frying oil. The group fed olestra chips ate on average 29 grams less fat and 270 fewer calories a day than those fed regular chips — even though those who knew they were eating fat-free chips ate 10 grams of chips more than those who ate regular chips. This study, done at Pennsylvania State University, also was partly sponsored by Procter & Gamble.

A possible concern about fat replacers is: Can foods claiming to be reduced in fat inadvertently influence people to eat more? Another study at Pennsylvania State University suggests they might. In this study, women were fed the same yogurt labeled either "high-fat" or "low-fat." The group fed the low-fat-labeled version ate more in a lunch that followed the yogurt than the group eating the high-fat-labeled yogurt. As a result, the group eating what they thought was low-fat yogurt took in more calories than the other group.

"It appeared that these women regarded the low-fat label as a license to overeat," wrote Debra Miller, a doctoral student in biobehavioral health and nutrition at Pennsylvania State, in an article she prepared for Weight Control Digest.

Still, reduced fat foods appear to be an important part of a fat-reduction diet, according to a study involving the Women's Health Trial. The study, designed to determine the role of low-fat diets in the prevention of breast cancer, found that eating "specially manufactured" low-fat foods was one of the most easily adopted dietary practices for those who received prior dietary instruction. Avoiding meats and giving up fats as flavorings (for example, eating bread without butter or margarine) were among the most difficult practices to adopt.

In using reduced-fat foods, the American Dietetic Association cautions consumers to realize that fat-free doesn't mean calorie-free. The calories lost in removing regular fat from a food can be regained through sugars added for palatability, as well as fat replacers, many of which provide calories, too. Consumers should refer to the Nutrition Facts panel on the food label to compare calories and other nutrition information between fat-reduced and regular-fat foods.

Many nutrition experts agree that, used properly, fat replacers can play an important role in improving adult Americans' diets. But, as with any diet or food, they emphasize variety and moderation to ensure a healthy intake.

"These [fat replacers] are truly innovative ideas," said Dennis Gordon, Ph.D., a food scientist at North Dakota State University, Columbia. "But they shouldn't be looked at as a total panacea. [The advice] is the same as with anything: Be prudent."

About the Author

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FDA is A United States government body that oversees medical devices, including contact lenses, intraocular lenses, excimer lasers and eyedrops. In the US, these products must be approved by the FDA before they can be marketed.