Beware Diet Food Fraud
For generations, cakes, cookies and ice cream have been sending out their seductive siren calls from supermarket shelves. But for a decade or more, dozens of diet foods have been joining the "buy me / try me" chorus.
Do we sometimes trick ourselves into thinking that lower-fat, lower-calorie foods are "free" for the over-indulging? And are our children also falling for these diet food imposters?
"Reduced-fat peanut butter and regular peanut butter have the same number of calories per serving," says Ann Marie Kemer, RD, LD, a dietitian in the Teen Health Center at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. "The fat has been replaced by sugar.
"One brand of sugar-free oatmeal cookie has 110 calories – the same as the brand's regular oatmeal cookie. It might not have table sugar, but it's packed with carbohydrates, and you're back to square one."
When "Diet Foods" Substitute for Real Food
Ideally, children and teens would be eating such a balanced diet of whole grains, vegetables, fruit and dairy, supplemented by smaller amounts of protein and fat, that they'd never look at a diet food or drink. But in the real world, with many parents dieting and society emphasizing thinness, the pantry is often stocked with low-fat, low-sugar options.
"With less fat, there's usually more sugar," says Ms. Kemer, "and with less sugar, there's usually more fat. They have to add other things to give these foods a palatable taste and feel.
"The more children eat 'diet' foods, the more likely they are not to be consuming the essential nutrients. These foods usually don't affect weight management: That's based on the total number of calories coming in."
An Unsatisfying Solution
Although Ms. Kemer acknowledges that a 50-calorie cookie might be preferable to a 110-calorie cookie as a snack, she warns about the rebound effect that can happen with diet foods.
"These foods might not be as exciting and acceptable to a child, and can lead to over-indulgence of regular foods later. It's better to teach children how to eat every type of non-'diet' food in moderation."
There's also the danger of eating so much "free" diet food that children consume more calories than they would with one serving of the original form of the food.
"A lot of diet foods are junk foods that are marketed as supposedly better for us now," she cautions. "Regular forms of cookies and candies are all right in moderation. Peanut butter and trail mix are still good for us if they're balanced with the calories for the rest of the day."
Rethinking Snack Time
Snacking is often prime time for diet food imposters. "Many adolescents don't see fruit, vegetables, cheese or yogurt as a snack. They think a snack is a bag of chips and a can of pop. Parents can present all types of snacks as important and healthful, so children see a wider range of foods as alternatives," Ms. Kemer says.
Instead of low-fat chips, for instance, parents can offer crunchy popcorn, pretzels and carrot sticks. Peanut butter, apples and bananas can replace sugarfree candy or cookies.
Reading labels is crucial to discerning real food from diet imposters. "A food might have 15 grams of combined sugars, but it's important to read the label to identify the types of sugars used. The natural sugars in raw or basic foods are preferable to added sugars. Fructose, natural fruit sugar, and lactose, natural milk sugar, for instance, are better than added sucrose and corn syrup," she notes.
A careful look at the label can unmask diet food imposters nearly every time.
