Kelsey Kryger
Wed, August 5, 2026 at 9:05 PM UTC
Trendy diets will never fade, but nutrition fads certainly change with the times. In more recent years, that has looked like the rise of carnivore andlow-carb diets, but from the 1980s through the early 2000s, the trend swung in the opposite direction, with Americans prioritizing low-fat foods. Think: fat-free cookies, salad dressings, and I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter!
The fat-free era started with the 1977 release of the Dietary Goals of the United States by the Senate Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs. Because heart disease was the leading cause of death in America, the emerging research of the time blamed dietary fat. Americans were formally advised to cut down on the intake of dietary fat
“Red meat, whole milk, butter, and eggs were out,” says Coco Pierrel, Certified Integrative Nutritionist and founder of Eat Shed Glow. “That handed food companies a problem because fat is what carries flavor and gives food its texture. Strip it out, and nobody buys the product twice. So they rebuilt both with sugar and starch, and the shelves filled with fat-free cookies, fat-free yogurt, and fat-free salad dressing, which people bought believing they were doing the right thing.”
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By pushing people toward heavily processed, low-fat packaged foods loaded with added sugars and refined carbohydrates, Americans were actually eating “diet” foods that worked against their metabolic health. And ironically enough, in 1980, the American adult obesity rate was around 15 percent, climbing to 23 percent by 1994.
“The fat-free diet craze basically stated that dietary fat turned into body fat, which just isn’t how metabolism works,” says Amy Shapiro, MS, RD, CDN, ButcherBox lead nutritionist. “In cutting fat, people also often cut protein, ending up in a cycle of eating low-satiety, high-sugar foods that spike blood sugar, increase cravings, and fail to preserve lean muscle. We now know that fat isn’t the enemy. Added sugar and a lack of quality protein are far bigger drivers of weight gain and poor metabolic health.”
Healthy fat doesn’t make you fat, nor does it raise blood sugar. In fact, it can keep you feeling full for four to five hours. The biggest lesson we can learn from past failed diets, like the fat-free craze, is to be wary of trends demonizing an entire macronutrient Whether it’s fat or carbs, sustainable weight loss comes down to eating whole, minimally processed foods, getting enough protein, and consistency rather than eliminating an entire food group
Related: The Best Time to Eat Dinner for Weight Loss, According to a Registered Dietitian
Experts
Coco Pierrel, Certified Integrative Nutritionist and founder of Eat Shed Glow
Amy Shapiro, MS, RD, CDN, ButcherBox lead nutritionist
This story was originally published byMen’s Journalon Aug 5, 2026, where it first appeared in theNutritionsection. Add Men’s Journal as aPreferred
