Small dietary changes can make a big dent in your fat intake. To find out which work best, Texas A&M University researchers asked 5,649 adults to recall how they tried to trim fat from their diet during two different 24-hour periods, then calculated which changes lowered their fat consumption most.
Here are the most common tactics, practiced by at least 45 percent of people polled:
- Trim fat from meat.
- Remove skin from chicken.
- Eat chips infrequently.
The least common, reported by 15 percent or fewer of respondents:
- Eat baked or boiled potatoes without added fat.
- l Avoid butter or margarine on breads.
- Eat lowfat cheese instead of regular.
- Choose fruit over a fatty dessert.
Here's what actually worked best to reduce overall intake of total and saturated fat:
- Don't add fat to baked or boiled potatoes.
- Don't eat red meat.
- Don't eat fried chicken.
- Don't eat more than two eggs per week.
Reported in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.
