Many low-fat foods have the same calories as regular foods, says study

Whether you're trying to lose weight or just stay healthy, chances are you've opted or a low-fat variety of your favourite food at one time or another. But a new report from British consumer watchdog Which! has revealed that many foods labelled low-fat contain a similar amount of calories as regular versions, and sometimes even more sugar.

The study surveyed 1,006 Britons, and found that 6 out of 10 consumers eat "low-fat" and "light" foods every week because they believe they are healthier, reports The Independent.

Which! looked at 12 light, low-fat or reduced fat foods and compared them to the original. It found that Tesco low-fat yogurt had more calories per container than the regular Activa version.

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It should be noted that, in the U.K., for a food to be labelled light or low-fat, it must contain 30 per cent less fat than the regular version — and the yogurt does.

In Canada, that number is 25 per cent. But they ultimately contain similar amounts of calories, and a reduction in caloric intake is a strong component of any weight loss program. Long story short — depending on which medical loss expert you talk to, calories matter has much, if not more, as fat content.

Canadian food labelling can be just as confusing. For example, President's Choice Blue Menu Low Fat Vanilla Frozen Yogurt has exactly the same number of calories per serving as President's Choice Regular Vanilla Frozen Yogurt. They even contain the same amount of fat — two grams — but while the low fat version has one gram of saturated fat per serving, the regular version has 1.5 grams.

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According to Canada's food labelling regulations as outlined by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, foods labelled low-fat must contain less than 3 grams of fat per serving, so the PC frozen yogurt is correct, but perhaps misleading.

The good news is that the nutritional values of almost all foods — fat, calories, carbs — can be found right on the label. The secret is to read the numbers on the side of the box, not claims of being "light" or "low-fat" on the front.