The supermarket is full of "diet" foods: low-fat yogurts, sugar-free biscuits, "light" ready meals, calorie-counted snack packs. They promise guilt-free eating. In reality, they often make weight management harder, not easier.
Here's why.
The Low-Fat Trap
When fat is removed from food, something else has to replace it - usually sugar, salt, or artificial thickeners. Compare a regular yogurt to its "low-fat" version:
| Per 100g | Full-Fat Greek Yogurt | Low-Fat Fruit Yogurt |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 115 | 85 |
| Sugar | 4g (natural) | 12g (added) |
| Protein | 9g | 4g |
| Satiety | High | Low |
Yes, the low-fat version has fewer calories. But it also has triple the sugar, half the protein, and will leave you hungry again in an hour. The "healthy" choice often leads to eating more overall.
The 1990s Low-Fat Disaster
When low-fat guidelines dominated the 1980s-90s, obesity rates actually increased. People replaced fat with refined carbs and sugar, felt less satisfied, and ended up eating more. The low-fat era was a public health failure.
The Sugar-Free Illusion
"Sugar-free" sounds healthy. But these products replace sugar with artificial sweeteners or sugar alcohols, which come with their own issues:
- They maintain sweet cravings - You stay accustomed to hyper-sweet tastes
- Possible appetite effects - Some research suggests sweeteners may actually increase hunger (though evidence is mixed)
- Digestive issues - Sugar alcohols (maltitol, sorbitol) can cause bloating and discomfort
- Permission to overeat - "It's sugar-free so I can have more" - but calories still exist
A sugar-free biscuit is still a biscuit. It's not suddenly a health food.
The "Light" Ready Meal Problem
Many "diet" ready meals are low in calories but also low in everything else:
- Tiny portions - 250-300 calories won't sustain anyone
- Low protein - Often 10-15g when you need 30g+
- Low satisfaction - You'll be hungry an hour later
- Highly processed - Stuffed with thickeners and flavourings to compensate for removed fat
The result? You eat the diet meal, feel unsatisfied, snack an hour later, and end up consuming more total calories than if you'd eaten a proper, satisfying meal.
🎯 The Core Problem
Diet foods prioritise low calories over satisfaction. But sustainable weight management requires feeling satisfied. An unsatisfying 300-calorie meal plus 200 calories of snacks beats a satisfying 450-calorie meal that keeps you full.
What Actually Works Better
Instead of "diet" versions of foods, eat real food in appropriate portions:
Instead of low-fat yogurt: Full-fat Greek yogurt with berries. More protein, no added sugar, genuinely filling.
Instead of diet ready meals: Proper meals with adequate protein and vegetables. Yes, they might be 500-600 calories, but that's what a meal should be.
Instead of sugar-free biscuits: Either have a real biscuit occasionally, or skip the biscuit entirely. The fake version satisfies neither the craving nor your nutrition needs.
Instead of low-calorie snack packs: Nuts, cheese, boiled eggs - foods with actual nutritional value that actually satisfy.
The Marketing Problem
Diet food marketing exploits guilt. It implies you're being "good" by choosing the low-cal option and "bad" if you eat normally. This creates:
- Unhealthy relationships with food
- Binge-restrict cycles
- Paradoxically worse eating habits
Food doesn't have moral value. A smaller portion of real food is almost always better than a larger portion of diet food.
💡 The Simple Rule
If a food needs to be labelled as a "diet" version, you probably shouldn't be eating it regularly anyway. Focus on foods that are naturally nutritious, not foods engineered to be less bad.