Counting Calories

I was doing some research into the nutrient content of the dietary intake on a standard day. Read an interesting article that had this as the last paragraph:
“One problem that seems to persist is consumers’ perception of what constitutes healthy eating. In this regard, consumers have persistently demonstrated a tendency to be myopic. Too often they focus on avoiding one or two “bad” food concerns (e.g., fat or saturated fat) and don’t consider the contribution of vitamins, minerals and other desirable nutrients. Highly engineered foods that contain increasingly larger proportions of fat replacers and bulking agents may indeed contain less fat and fewer calories, but in many cases, they also may contain significantly reduced levels of beneficial nutrients. The education part of the NLEA must be improved for consumers to benefit from nutrition labels. Good nutrition involves more than counting calories.”
I could not agree more with Ray, the author of the piece. In the first place, fat is not the demon it is made out to be. Never was. And most consumers have it 100% wrong. “Fat is the No. 1 consumer nutrition concern and saturated fat is No. 2, according to a recent telephone interview of 1,500 adults sampled nationwide…”
The truth is, the more fat you eat, the less fat you are. Check out the Framingham study for proof.
The article even gives the game away when it says, “Despite the shift to eating foods with lower levels of fat, consumers are heavier than ever.” It’s not so much “Despite” as it is “Because”!
The article continues, “A recent survey by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) shows that 33% of American adults are now overweight – an 8% increase over 10 years ago. A study by the National Institutes of Health revealed that in 1992-1993 the average weight of Americans age 25-30 was 171 lbs. The same age group had an average weight of only 161 lbs. in 1985-1986. Excess caloric intake from nonfat sources is undoubtedly contributing to this weight gain.”
I knew right there and then it must be an old article as the figure is now 66%. So I found the date – 1996!
https://www.naturalproductsinsider.com/articles/1996/06/counting-calories.aspx