So popular did the low-fat craze become that in 1992 the U.S. Department of Agriculture introduced its much-vaunted food pyramid guidelines that recommended Americans lay off the fat and load up on grains and cereals, which are carbohydrates.
But there was a problem. During the 1990s, despite the new guidelines and the glut of low-fat and fat-free products available, Americans got even fatter. While most experts agree that Americans' increasingly sedentary lifestyle and fondness for fast food contributed to the nation's growing girth, others postulate that the low-fat label misled consumers into believing that such products contained fewer calories, causing them to eat even more.
"The low-fat message was interpreted as if you had a product that was lower in fat it was good for you without thinking of calories," says Professor Marion Nestle of New York University's Department of Nutrition, Food Studies & Public Health. "The best example is the Snackwell phenomenon: Snackwell cookies were advertised as low-fat cookies but they had almost the same number of calories."
Nutritionists also note that in order to make products low-fat, companies had to replace the fat with something else--usually carbohydrates.
Enter Dr. Atkins and the low-carb diet craze currently sweeping the nation. Whereas low-fat diets like Pritikin and Ornish warned followers against eating high-fat foods like steak and eggs, Atkins followers avoided the carbohydrates that are the mainstay of a low-fat lifestyle.
And they began seeing impressive results. "I bought the book and I'm like, 'No way--I can't have bacon and eggs for breakfast...and prime rib and lose weight, it's not possible,'" says Lisa Sandonato, who lost 45 pounds in nine months on the Atkins diet. "Everything you've been told all your life about diets and things kind of turns on its head."
Not surprisingly, low-carb diets have come under attack by everyone from low-fat diet proponents to scientists and the media. In "Diet Wars," Talbot speaks with science journalist Gary Taubes, whose own six-week, twenty-pound weight loss on a low-carb diet prompted him to write an article for The New York Times Magazine that questioned whether the food pyramid was wrong and limiting carbohydrates was the way to go.
"I got crucified in a variety of publications," Taubes tells FRONTLINE. "A Washington Post reporter went after me, the Center for Science in the Public Interest went after me...because suddenly I turned around and said, 'Maybe low-fat diets don't work and maybe low-carbohydrate diets are the answer.'"
Taubes admits to being surprised by the ferocity with which his article was attacked. "People are more polarized on this than they are in politics," he says. "I'm stunned."
What most nutritionists and industry experts do agree on is the fact that America is facing an obesity problem of epidemic proportions.
"This is the public health issue of our generation," says Dr. James Hill, director of the University of Colorado's Center for Human Nutrition. "[When] you see 65 percent of Americans are overweight or obese, what amazes me is that anyone maintains a healthy weight in this environment.
Frontline airs on PBS Thursday April 8, 2004. Check your local listings.
This article is comprised of content from a press release provided by Frontline.
