Seven Country Study Background

• 1950s study fooled science/world into believing fats are terrible and deadly
• Led to food industry removing fats, replacing with high fructose corn syrup
• Created fat-free obsessed society by 70s-80s

Fat-Free Food Market Boom

• Mid-90s peak of fat-free obsession
• Healthy Choice line made $1.3 billion in sales in 1994
• Consumers willing to pay premium for fat-free foods due to fear of heart attacks

Olestra Development and Testing

• Procter & Gamble developed olestra (trade name for polyester sucrose)
• Originally developed late 1960s as fat substitute for premature infant formula
• Took until 1990s to gain market traction
• Extensive product testing revealed serious side effects:
  • Abdominal cramping
  • Flatulence
  • Diarrhea/loose stools
• P&G spent hundreds of millions over 30 years development
• Proceeded despite known side effects

FDA Approval and Marketing

• FDA approved olestra with mandatory warning labels
• Warning stated: "may cause abdominal cramping and loose stools"
• Marketed as "WOW!" chips (Pringles, Frito-Lay)
• Consumers overindulged because perceived as "fat-free"
• 1998 initial sales: $400 million first year

Scientific Mechanism

• Polyester sucrose mimics fat taste and mouthfeel
• Natural triglycerides: fatty acids + 3 hydrocarbon chains
• Body metabolizes natural fats by breaking hydrocarbon chains
• Olestra: sucrose molecule surrounded by many hydrocarbon chains
• Body cannot break through dense hydrocarbon barrier
• Passes through digestive system completely unmetabolized

Unintended Health Consequences

• Body confusion: stopped metabolizing all fats properly
• Weight gain despite eating "fat-free" foods
• Natural fats stored as fat instead of being metabolized
• Olestra acted as "magnet" for vitamins/nutrients
• Caused vitamin deficiencies by removing nutrients during passage
• Study showed 50% of participants got diarrhea from eating 16 WOW Doritos chips

Current Status

• 2002: FDA removed warning label requirement
• P&G argued effects no worse than high-fiber foods
• Olestra still used but rebranded as "light" or "fat-free"
• Products: Lay's Light, Ruffles fat-free, Ritz fat-free, Wheat Thins fat-free
• No longer marketed under "olestra" or "WOW" names