‘Diet’ foods can make you fat

The so-called “diet” products containing low or no fat may have higher amount of sugar and consuming them regularly could make you fat, new research warns. The sugar-laden “diet” foods could also lead to liver damage and brain inflammation, said the study published in the journal Physiology & Behavior.

“Most 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 as well,” said the study’s principal investigator Krzysztof Czaja, Associate Professor at University of Georgia in the US.

Researchers found that rats fed a diet high in sugar but low in fat - meant to imitate many popular diet foods - increased 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.