It's a fat-free world

With more people resorting to fat-free and salt-free butter, it seems, one day the number of people who will actually eat wholesome ice-cream will be limited to just a group, and of course children, who don’t care so much about calories. Are today’s people taking care of their health concerns by changing their food habits while corporations make profit from their fears? Metrolife asked Bangaloreans about their thoughts on this dietary shift.

Frozen yogurt made from skimmed milk which tastes like iced milk and gheeless paranthas. Even though these are names of food items, they don't remotely make your mouth water. And there is an obvious reason for that. You don't expect them to be delicious as their 'with fat' counterparts are. “Slowly fat-free items are becoming the future, however tasteless, they maybe,” says Rohit, a professional.

And it is true because we often see people who would rather have three tasteless, fat-free paranthas than eat one that would taste just perfect. “How can aspertin ever replace powdered sugar on a doughnut? It can look the same but can’t taste the same,” says Nikhil Bhardwaj, a marketing professional.

“We are living in a world where people spend most of their time on chairs to earn a living and are tricked into losing weight by ways as idiotic as diet food,” he adds. “People working in urban areas have spending capacity to spend on fat free foods and health clubs. When health instructors tell them to avoid fat, their easy route to that is fat-free food,” says Abhinav, a professional. “Diet food is a cool way of fooling yourself,” says Nikhil.   

“I personally feel that low fat food is an eyewash. My motto in life is to eat good food. It’s the spacing that is important because it allows converting the fat into energy,” says Kowsik K, a student from BMS College of Engineering. “People rather than focusing on a diet which is rich in all nutrients, focus on a diet high in protein and low in carbohydrates and fat. But in reality, a healthy diet should have some amount of fat also,” says Abhinav.

Essentially, a person should be able to eat the food that one desires and not be restricted by labels and it’s only when you are restricted that you look for other avenues. “Fat-free food is generally used by people who have no control over their own eating habits,” says Rohit. “One should enjoy all the good food the world has to offer and exercise,” says Nikhil. “After all inside every fat person is a thin person looking to get out,”  says Kowsik.