Many people fighting obesity put top priority on avoiding fat. But that strategy often leads to a preference for sugar-laden \u201cdiet\u201d foods that could be contributing to weight gain, according to a new study published online in the journal Physiology and Behavior.<\/p>\n
UGA researchers found that rats fed a diet high in sugar, but low in fat\u2014similar to popular diet foods\u2014increased body fat mass when compared to rats fed a balanced rodent diet. The high-sugar diet induced a host of other problems, including liver damage and brain inflammation.<\/p>\n
\u201cMost so-called diet products containing low or no fat have an increased amount of sugar and are camouflaged under fancy names, giving the impression that they are healthy, but the reality is that those foods may damage the liver and lead to obesity,\u201d said Krzysztof Czaja, associate professor in the College of Veterinary Medicine.<\/p>\n
Notably, the rats consuming high-sugar, low-fat diets didn\u2019t consume significantly more calories than the rats who were fed a balanced diet, Czaja said.<\/p>\n
The problem, rather, comes in the way the sugary intake alters the metabolism.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn rats fed a low-fat, high-sugar diet, the efficiency of generating body fat is more than twice as high,\u201d he said. \u201cRats consuming low-fat, high-sugar diets need less than half the number of calories to generate the same amount of body fat.\u201d<\/p>\n
This brief appeared in the fall 2017 issue of Research Magazine. The original press release is available at\u00a0https:\/\/news.uga.edu\/releases\/article\/diet-products-can-make-you-fat\/<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Many people fighting obesity put top priority on avoiding fat. But that strategy often leads to a preference for sugar-laden \u201cdiet\u201d foods that could be contributing to weight gain, according to a new study published online in the journal Physiology and Behavior. UGA researchers found that rats fed a diet high in sugar, but low … <\/p>\n