Packaged Facts: The Decriminalization of Cholesterol

ROCKVILLE, Md., Sept. 30, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- If not quite a case of death by a thousand cuts, conventional nutritional (and public health) wisdom about fats and oils in the diet is being run through the wringer. Credit Suisse's recently released report on Fat: The New Health Paradigm (September 9, 2015) represents another turn of the screw, with its conclusion that "eating cholesterol has basically no influence on the level of cholesterol in the blood or on potential heart diseases." That is, cholesterol levels in our blood matters, but not necessarily the cholesterol level in our foods. Credit Suisse's report indicates that this conclusion is based on analysis of over 400 medical papers or books and two primary research surveys of doctors, nutritionists, and consumers.

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For the last half of the 20^th century, the nutritional consensus and public health guidelines were to moderate if not restrict consumption of fats and oils, and especially to minimize consumption of saturated fats and cholesterol. Among food industry professionals, "Snackwells" is commonly the shorthand point of reference for this paradigm, in reference to the Nabisco's best-selling 1990s line of no/low fat snacks, such as fat-free Devil's Food cookie cakes. Many consumers took the message to be that you could have your cake and eat it too—as long as it was fat-free.

Despite the widespread propagation and acceptance of these guidelines, several factors have undermined their credibility. Packaged Facts consumer survey data published in our report on Nutritional Labeling and Clean Labels in the U.S. (April 2015) show that three-fourths of consumers now recognize that fats and oils have an important role in a healthy diet. Conversely, Simmons consumer survey data from Experian Marketing Services show that the percentage of U.S. households who buy products formulated to be low-fat/fat-free fell from 45% in 2005 to 34% in 2015. 

The overarching factor to this paradigm shift was the dismal failure of former nutritional wisdom to put a dent in the American weight and obesity epidemic. Products reformulated to be low-fat and fat-free seemed to have the opposite effect on their consumers, partly because such products piled in more carbs to make the defatted products palatable. Because fats and oils are high-calorie, their consumption should be restricted on that basis. But the health halo of low-fat or fat-free tarnished considerably.   

Specific trends fed the recognition that nutritional thinking about fat had been simplistic at best.  One such trend was emphasis on the role of omega-3 in heart and brain health, which turned salmon and tuna into health and wellness staples, spurred widespread fortification of foods with omega-3, and elevated fish oil supplements to king of the hill among single-ingredient nutritional supplements. Another paradigm-shifter was a surge in popularity for the Mediterranean diet, in the wake of scientific studies supporting the healthfulness of this rich-in-fat tradition of eating. Olive oil joined salmon as a healthy-eating hero. 

At the same time, a public health focus on eliminating industrially produced trans fats from the food supply cast food processing in an unfavorable light and dimmed consumer enthusiasm for margarine (and particularly stick margarines higher in trans fats). In conjunction with a renaissance of respect for olive oil, the ban on industrially produced trans fats helped re-orient consumers to natural fats and oils, a back to the future trend that ties into much larger food industry dynamics.

For more information about Packaged Facts' report on Nutritional Labeling and Clean Labels in the U.S. (April 2015), please see http://www.packagedfacts.com/Nutritional-Labeling-Clean-8953224/.

For free slides on consumer trends in fats and oils from a Packaged Facts presentation at the recent Natural Products Expo East, contact Daniel Granderson at [email protected].

About Packaged Facts – Packaged Facts, a division of MarketResearch.com, publishes market intelligence on a wide range of consumer market topics, including consumer demographics and shopper insights, consumer financial products and services, consumer goods and retailing, consumer packaged goods, and pet products and services. Packaged Facts also offers a full range of custom research services. Reports can be purchased at www.PackagedFacts.com and are also available on www.marketresearch.com and www.profound.com.

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Daniel Granderson
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