Fats

Three new studies show that most adults have unexpectedly large and active deposits of a calorie-burning type of fat that biologists once thought disappeared after infancy. The persistence of brown fat suggests a potential new strategy to fight obesity, which is epidemic in the United States and increasing rapidly in the developing world.

The early reviews are mostly positive at the Universal Studios Hollywood theme park, where the menu changed Christmas Eve to cut trans fat from many junk-food favorites. Twelve-year-old Jack Xu noticed something different about his French fry. "It tastes drier and not too salty," he said, then added: "I still like it."

Starbucks Corp. is cutting trans fats from the doughnuts, muffins and other treats in half of its U.S. stores and plans to eventually drop the artery-clogging fats from company-operated coffeehouses across the country. The world's largest specialty coffee retailer has been working to eliminate trans fats from its food menu for about two years, spokesman Brandon Borrman said Tuesday.

With each year, the nutritional story of fat seems to become more complicated. It used to be fairly simple: Saturated fats were the bad guys, polyunsaturated fats were the good guys. Then came the trans fat revelation. Here's another head-scratching twist: an ideal \o7ratio\f7 of fats. Many nutritionists are concerned that our consumption of two kinds of polyunsaturated fatty acids -- the omega-3 and omega-6 fats -- is way out of balance these days and that our health may be paying the price.

After a failed attempt to ban trans fat in Los Angeles-area restaurants, city and county officials reached an agreement Tuesday with the local chapter of the California Restaurant Assn. to voluntarily phase out the substance within 18 months. But because the association has only a few thousand members out of more than 34,000 restaurants in the county, it is unclear how far-reaching the deal will be.

ADD corn oil to the list of foods that the Food and Drug Administration says might be healthful. Last month, the agency said corn oil manufacturers could claim that their product might reduce the risk of heart disease, even while acknowledging that there is little scientific evidence to support the link. Called a "qualified health claim," these bragging rights raised more than a few eyebrows among nutritionists. "It's hilarious," says Marion Nestle, professor of nutrition at New York University.

Fat is no longer synonymous with a four-letter word in nutrition circles, but knowing how much to eat -- and what kinds -- can be difficult. Take the latest dietary guidelines. They recommend eating 25% to 35% of daily calories as fat and urge limiting saturated fat (found mostly in animal products such as meat and cheese) to 7% of calories, and trans fat (found in many fried foods and baked goods) to less than 1%. Just try doing that at dinner without using a calculator.

It's lunch time, and the lasagna on the menu is tempting. But you're trying to cut down on fat, so you go with the chicken Caesar salad instead. After all, after years of warnings about cholesterol and salt and fat content, you probably think you know a thing or two about healthful choices. But it turns out that what Californians "know" about the nutritional value of the food they order in chain restaurants may be the stuff of mythology.

Starbucks Corp. said it would replace whole milk with 2% for espresso drinks in all of its U.S. and Canadian stores by the end of the year. Drinks in North America will soon be made by default with the lower-fat milk, but customers can still request whole milk, the company said. Starbucks said it made the switch based on increased requests from customers. A 16-ounce "grande" latte made with reduced-fat milk has 190 calories, compared with 260 calories in one made with whole milk.

Many years ago, a snack chip manufacturer developed a corn chip labeled "light." Dieters were delighted. "It's about time," they thought, "a guilt-free chip." But upon closer inspection of the label, hearts sank. The new chips had more calories than regular chips -- they just had a new "light" texture. To help avoid such baffling or misleading claims, the FDA in 1999 revised and strengthened its labeling guidelines, aiming to make packaging clearer and simpler.