Fat-free products line shelves on grocery stores nationwide, and consumers have been gobbling them up. Unfortunately for consumers, fat-free does not mean healthy.
According to Jan Schaefer, student service coordinator for University Health Services student programs, fat-free foods use extra sugar to make up for the taste void left by the departed fat.
Foods like yogurt, cereal and granola bars all use high levels of sugars, levels that most people do not burn off throughout the day.
'If high amounts of sugar are consumed and are not utilized via movement such as walking, the excess sugar will be stored as fat in the body,' Schaefer said.
College students consume several types of foods that contain high sugars, not just fat-free products. Candy and soda used for a late-night cram session will result in the same levels of excess sugar.
Schaefer also reminds students that the sugar buzz will last about 30 minutes, 'but the sugar blues follows, leaving the individual feeling tired.'
A diet consisting of foods naturally low in fat and sugars is one way to avoid unsightly and unhealthy fat deposits.
