[mb7733]

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18296750:

> This article examines how faith in science led physicians and patients to embrace the low-fat diet for heart disease prevention and weight loss. Scientific studies dating from the late 1940s showed a correlation between high-fat diets and high-cholesterol levels, suggesting that a low-fat diet might prevent heart disease in high-risk patients. By the 1960s, the low-fat diet began to be touted not just for high-risk heart patients, but as good for the whole nation. After 1980, the low-fat approach became an overarching ideology, promoted by physicians, the federal government, the food industry, and the popular health media. Many Americans subscribed to the ideology of low fat, even though there was no clear evidence that it prevented heart disease or promoted weight loss. Ironically, in the same decades that the low-fat approach assumed ideological status, Americans in the aggregate were getting fatter, leading to what many called an obesity epidemic. Nevertheless, the low-fat ideology had such a hold on Americans that skeptics were dismissed. Only recently has evidence of a paradigm shift begun to surface, first with the challenge of the low-carbohydrate diet and then, with a more moderate approach, reflecting recent scientific knowledge about fats.

[462436347]

The obesity rate was 30% in 2000, when sugar consumption peaked and the low-carb movement became mainstream. Now the obesity rate is over 40%:

https://cdn.statcdn.com/Infographic/images/normal/11497.jpeg

> Many Americans subscribed to the ideology of low fat

The "low-fat guidelines made people fat" nonsense would carry more weight if people actually followed the guidelines, but they didn't.

[radlad]

Thanks for the link. My understanding is that fats are more energy dense than simple carbs, and therefore eating high-fat diets is more likely to cause weight gain. The article is interesting, but it seems to take for granted that this isn't true. Are there any evidence-based studies you can link?

[mb7733]

The reason I posted that article is because it summarizes how there has been a huge shift in thinking since the low-fat craze. I don't think it takes anything for granted, and I wasn't looking to argue for a particular point of view. I'm sure you can find studies about a specific topic as easily as I can.

Re caloric density: it's true that fat has more cal/g than carbs or protein. But, people do not eat a fixed mass of food per day -- the satiety of the food they consume influences this. Insulin response also affects weight gain and satiety.