The century-old mistake of low-fat diets: Why are we getting fatter?

The Low-Fat Diet is a Century-Old Mistake

What has become of us after following a low-fat diet for so many years? We've become increasingly obese and clumsy. Furthermore, diabetes is widespread among adults and even younger generations.

When the total amount of fat burned decreases significantly, beneficial unsaturated fats and other healthy fats are also restricted.

Long-term low-fat diets lead to a lack of good cholesterol, resulting in weakened immune function, increased susceptibility to infectious diseases and cancer, and accelerated cellular aging, leading to premature aging.

Statistics show that over 60% of Americans are overweight or severely obese, compared to less than 40% thirty years ago. What has caused Americans to become increasingly obese over the past thirty years?

Western diets used to be high in protein and fat. In the 1950s, Professor Ansel Keys of the University of Minnesota proposed that consuming fat increases cholesterol levels, increasing the risk of heart disease, while a low-fat diet leads to better cardiovascular health.

In January 1977, under the leadership of George McGovern, a U.S. Senate committee published the "Dietary Goals for America," recommending that Americans reduce their fat intake to prevent obesity and disease. The National Institutes of Health demonstrated that lowering cholesterol with medication could prevent heart disease and hypothesized that a low-fat diet might have the same effect, thus officially recommending in 1984 that Americans over the age of two eat less fat. In 1992, the U.S. Department of Agriculture published the famous "Dietary Guidelines Pyramid." Thus began over two decades of a so-called "low-fat diet"-driven obesity trend in the United States.

After more than two decades of the low-fat diet trend, the fat content in the American diet has significantly decreased, while the intake of processed foods has significantly increased. However, the obesity rate has continued to rise sharply, from 13% in the 1960s and 70s to 25% in the 1980s, and now it is approaching two-thirds, while the incidence of heart disease has not decreased at all.

What is our current situation after following the low-fat principle for so many years? We are becoming increasingly obese and increasingly clumsy. Furthermore, diabetes is widespread among adults and even younger generations, and obesity is not a sudden development, but rather the result of nearly two decades of unhealthy eating habits.