Impact of Fat Substitutes on Fat Intake Gregory D. Miller* and Susan M. Groziak National Dairy Council, Rosemont, Illinois 60018-5616

ABSTRACT: Dietary fat is the number one nutrition concern of Americans. In response to rising consumer demand for reducedfat foods, the food industry has developed a multitude of nonfat, lowfat, and reduced-fat versions of regular food products. To generate reduced-fat or fat-free products that have the same organoleptic characteristics of the regular fat version, food manufacturers frequently employ fat substitutes in the formulation of these foods. Fat substitutes are made from either carbohydrate, protein, or fat, or a combination of these components. Researchers have questioned the impact of fat substitutes on both fat and caloric intake. The majority of research studies in which fat substitutes were either covertly or overtly substituted for dietary fat indicate that in short-term, carefully-controlled conditions, fat substitutes can decrease both dietary fat intake and percentage of calorie intake from fat. However, individuals compensate for the caloric deficit created by the fat substitutes by increasing their consumption of other macronutrients, primarily carbohydrate. The long-term effect of fat substitutes on the fat intake of free-living individuals and weight control are unknown. People tend to eat more of a food when they know that food is reduced in fat. Fat substitutes should not be considered a substitute for sound nutrition education and a healthy lifestyle which includes regular exercise. Lipids 3 I, S-293-S-296 (I 996).

Today's Americans are fat-phobic. Dietary fat is the numberone nutrition concern of Americans (1). Nearly three-quarters of adults have changed their diets to decrease their fat intake (2). Three out of every four adults report that they consume reduced-fat foods and beverages (3). And just over one-half (54%) of U.S. adults choose reduced-fat versions of snack foods over the full-fat versions (4). In response to rising consumer demand for reduced-fat foods, the food industry has developed a multitude of nonfat, lowfat, and reduced-fat versions of regular food products. Today, roughly 14% of all new foods introduced into the marketplace are either reduced fat, reduced cholesterol, or reduced calorie (5). New food products containing fat substitutes include hot dogs, bologna, oven-roasted chicken breast, smoked turkey

*To whom correspondence should be addressed at Nutrition Technical Services, National Dairy Council, 10255 West Higgins Road, Suite 900, Rosemont, IL 60018-5616. Abbreviation: GRAS, generallyregarded as safe. Copyright 9 1996 by AOCS Press

breast, cheese, baked goods, frozen dessert, mayo.nnaise, salad dressing, sour cream, and potato chips (6). To generate reduced-fat or fat-free products that have the same organoleptic characteristics of the regular-fat versions, food manufacturers frequently employ fat substitutes in the formulation of these foods. Dietary fat substitutes have existed for over a decade (7), and over the past ten years, more than 100 fat substitutes have been formulated (8). Fat substitutes are made from carbohydrate, protein, fat, or a combination of these components. Carbohydrate fat substitutes include gums such as xanthan gum; algins from kelp; modified food starches such as Stellar and STA-SLIM 143 (A.E. Staley Mfg. Co., Decatur, IL); dextrins; polydextrose; maltodextrins such as Matrin MO40, NOil, and Paselli SA 2 (Avebe America, Princeton, NJ); mixtures of dextrins and fiber such as Nutrifat| fiber-based products such as inulin and oatrim (Rhone-Poulenc, Inc., Princeton, N J); cellulose-based products such as Avicel (FMC Corp., Philadelphia, PA); and pectin-based products such as Slendid (Hercules Food Gums, Wilmington, DE) (9,10). Carbohydrate-based fat substitutes absorb water and imitate the thickness and creaminess of fat. These products are used in baked products, pudding, salad dressing, yogurt, milk, cheese products, processed meat products, spreads, dips, frosting, soup, and frozen dessert. Carbohydrate-based fat substitutes typically provide between 1 and 4 calories per g and are limited by the fact that they are often not well suited to baking, cannot be used in frying, and may reduce shelf life due to a high associated water content (21). Protein-based fat substitutes include Simplesse | (Simplesse Co., Deerfield, IL) and Trailblazer (Kraft General Foods, Glenview, IL) (22-24). Simplesse | is made through the application of a patented heating and blending process (called microparticulation) to milk or egg-white protein. Trailblazer is created from a mixture of egg white, whey protein, and xantham gum. These fat substitutes are used in cheese, ice cream, yogurt, mayonnaise, dressing, spreads, cake, muffins, pastries, frosting, and frozen cheesecake. Like carbohydrate-based fat substitutes, protein-based fat substitutes provide between 1 and 4 calories per g and are limited by the fact that they are not well suited to baking and cannot be used in frying (21). Fat-based fat substitutes include sucrose polyester [better known as olestra (Procter & Gamble Co., Cincinnati, OH)],

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salatrim (Pfizer, Inc., New York), sorbestrin, caprenin (Procter & Gamble, Cincinnati, OH), appetize (Omegasource Corp., Burnsville, MN), and lita | Salatrim, sorbestrin (Pfizer, Inc., New York), and caprenin provide between 5 and 9 calories per g, whereas olestra is a nondigestible compound (25-28). Fat-based fat substitutes may be used to replace fat in products such as cheese, peanut butter, potato chips, candy, spreads, oil, and ice cream. The ease with which a fat substitute is introduced into the marketplace depends on its method of formulation. New molecules such as olestra must first be cleared with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a food additive before they are used in food products. Procter and Gamble has been seeking FDA approval of the use of olestra in snack foods for over eight years. In support of this product, Procter and Gamble conducted 100 animal studies and 25 clinical trials on olestra, accumulated over 100,000 pages of research data, and spent over $200 million (26,29-31). The FDA has currently granted Procter and Gamble an extension for its patent, which expires in 1996. If the development of a fat substitute involves applying a new process to an existing molecule (such as utilizing microparticulation to generate Simplesse), the FDA may require manufacturers to submit a petition to affirm that the fat substitute is generally regarded as safe (GRAS) (25). If, instead, the formulation of a fat substitute involves applying existing technologies to familiar molecules (such as the manufacture of maltodextrin), the fat substitute will be more readily incorporated into the marketplace (18,32). The optimal fat substitute should feel, taste, and act like real fat when cooked or fried and contain little or no calories. Unfortunately, success in meeting all of these criteria has been limited (8,33). Most fat substitutes simulate the texture but not the taste or melting properties of real fat (26). Most aromatic chemicals that influence flavor are soluble in fat. Consequently, carbohydrate- and protein-based fat substitutes are limited by the fact that they cannot carry these compounds (26,34). Taste is probably the most pleasing characteristic of dietary fat. Taste is generally the number-one reason why people select foods. People find it difficult to reduce their fat intake primarily because fat greatly enhances the flavor of foods (35). Reduction in the taste quality of the diet is the reason most frequently cited for consumers' inability to adhere to a reducedfat diet (36). Even if fat substitutes can be formulated to taste just like real fat, however, the scientific community has questioned whether fat substitues will provide a significant health benefit to consumers. Researchers have raised concerns that (i) unlike dietary fat, fat substitutes do not provide essential fatty acids and fat soluble vitamins; (ii) if poorly absorbed, fat substitutes may absorb nutrients and drugs such as oral contraceptives, preventing their absorption; and (iii) fat substitutes may adversely alter the function of the gastrointestinal tract (25,26). Additionally, researchers have questioned the impact of fat substitutes on both fat and caloric intakes. According to one Lipids, Vol. 31, Supplement (1996)

estimate, dietary fat intake could be reduced by up to 10 g per day if fat-free alternatives were substituted for regular-fat cream cheese, cottage cheese, cheesecake, sour cream, salad dressing, frozen desserts, and sweet baked goods (37,38). Considering the reduction in calories that would also assumably occur when fat-free alternatives are substituted for traditional fat-containing foods, researchers estimated that use of these fat-free products would reduce the percent of total calorie intake from fat from 36 to 31%. Similarly, it has been estimated that use of Simplesse in all potential applications could reduce total fat intake from 36 to 30% of all calories (39). The majority of controlled studies conducted on either lean or obese subjects indicate that fat substitutes can decrease dietary fat intake (35,40--44). These studies reduced intake by replacing the fat in muffins, biscuits, potato chips, cookies, frozen desserts, or shakes. One study conducted in obese adults replaced 60 g fat in a shake with olestra (41). This study reduced the daily percent of calorie intake from fat from a control level of 43 to 29% (41). A more recent study conducted in lean men replaced either 20 or 36 g fat in breakfast biscuits with olestra (35). The control diet provided 42% of total calories from fat. Replacing 20 g fat with olestra reduced the daily percent of calorie intake from fat to 39%. Replacing 36 g fat in biscuits with olestra further reduced the daily percent of calorie intake from fat to 35% (35). A 1993 study conducted in children replaced 25 g fat in a frozen dessert with Simplesse (43). This study achieved only a 1% reduction in calorie intake from fat (i.e., reducing daily fat intake from 37 to 36% of caloties). Consequently, under very controlled research conditions, replacing dietary fat with fat substitutes can decrease caloric fat intake by as much as 14%. Keep in mind, however, that these studies determine the fat content of the control as well as the test diets. The length of these studies ranged from 8 to 40 days. Therefore long-term effects of fat substitutes on dietary fat intake are unknown. In a free-living situation, fat substitutes may not produce dramatic decreases in fat intake. Using a computer modeling system, researchers have determined that several different dietary strategies are needed to realistically reduce fat intake (45,46). No single strategy can be expected to reduce fat intake to the goal of 30% of calories. Furthermore fat-reduction strategies that work best for specific people are highly individualistic (46). Consumers should be given a choice of many 9different fat-reduction strategies and allowed flexibility to choose strategies that best meet their needs (46). In addition, most studies conducted with fat substitutes report that individuals compensate for the caloric deficit created by use of the fat substitute by increasing their intake of carbohydrate and protein (35,42,43). This energy compensation is both unconscious (as demonstrated by studies that covertly replace dietary fat with fat substitutes (35,42,43) and conscious, as demonstrated by studies where the subjects are told they are consuming a reduced-fat food (47). People tend to eat more of a food when they know that the food is reduced in fat (47-50). Consequently, foods containing fat substitutes may help consumers reduce their dietary fat intake but not necessarily their

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caloric intake, because individuals may compensate by consuming more food. Dietary fat intake in the United States has been falling since the 1960s (51"). At present, Americans consume approximately 34% of their calories from fat (62). In contrast, calorie intake and the rate of weight gain and obesity has been increasing (53,54). Today, one in three Americans is overweight (1). The current prevalence of overweight people in the United States, despite years of weight-reduction efforts, i's hardly encouraging (5). Almost no data exist on the effect of fat substitutes on weight loss (6). To lose weight, it is equally important that consumers decrease their calorie intakes and increase their activity levels (57,58). Unfortunately, today, only about 7% of Americans are concerned about calories, whereas 60% are concerned about fat (I). Will fat substitutes improve the nutrient intake of Americans by alleviating consumers' ill-founded "guilt" over consuming nutrient-dense foods from the five food groups that also happen to contain fat? Or will fat substitutes drive consumers to eat a class of foods that are low in fat but also equally low in nutrients (21)? Currently available research does not allow us to make speculations at this point. Health professionals are also divided over the possible effect of fat substitutes on taste preference. Whereas some speculate that good-tasting foods containing fat replacements may promote a gradual acquisition of a preference for lowerfat foods (31), others propose that foods containing fat substitutes may support a taste preference for high-fat foods (59). Research indicates that people in general, and overweight people specifically, prefer the taste of high-fat foods (60). Scientists have also raised questions about the inability of low-fat foods to provide long-term satiety, compared to high-fat products (61). Some researchers hypothesize that the influence of dietary fat on satiety impacts both the perception of palatability and food preference (21). Consequently, will fat substitutes heighten a taste preference for high-fat foods that will only be satisfied by the consumption of products high in real fat? As health professionals, we must teach consumers that macronutrient substitution in foods is not a substitute for a healthy lifestyle, which includes consuming a nutritious diet, maintaining an appropriate weight, and exercising on a regular basis (5). Foods that contain fat substitutes can be a part of a healthy lifestyle but should not be promoted as a "magic bullet" to dietary fat reduction, weight loss, or good nutrition. Instructing people to maintain a healthy lifestyle, which includes eating more foods from the five food groups, consuming fewer desserts and sweets, and exercising on a regular basis may sound like less savvy advice than offering consumers fat-free potato chips and candy bars. In the long run, however, sound nutrition advice based on principles of the five food groups, variety, and moderation, together with encouragement of an active and healthy lifestyle, will achieve greater success in optimizing the nutritional status of Americans than any proposed magic bullet.

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