Is olestra consumption associated with changes in dietary intake, serum lipids, and body weight?

There is considerable controversy regarding the effects of fat substitutes (such as the non-caloric fat substitute, olestra) on Americans' diet and health. This report gives associations of olestra consumption (in savory snacks) with changes in nutrient intake, serum lipid concentrations, and body weight 1 y after these snacks became available nationally in the United States.

Participants were 1178 adults recruited from three large U.S. cities. At baseline (before the availability of olestra), participants attended a clinic visit and completed questionnaires (including a food-frequency questionnaire), provided fasting blood samples, and had height and weight measured. The clinic visit was repeated about 1 y later, after the introduction of olestra-containing snacks in the marketplace. Olestra consumption was categorized as "none," "very low" (>0 to <0.4 g/d), "low" (>/=0.4 to <2.0 g/d), and "moderate/high" (>/=2.0 g/d).

Twenty-five percent of participants reported consuming olestra-containing savory snacks in the preceding month, but only 2% were categorized as moderate/high consumers. Men reported nearly twice as much olestra consumption as women (1.22 versus 0.68 g/d, P = 0.01). Among moderate/high olestra consumers, total energy and carbohydrate intakes increased by 209 kcal/d and 37 g/d, compared with decreases of 87 kcal/d and 14 g/d, respectively, among non-consumers (both Ps for trend = 0.01), corresponding to non-significant changes in percentages of energy from carbohydrate and total fat. Olestra consumption was not associated with statistically significant changes in serum lipids or body weight.

This study found very modest changes in total diet, but no changes in serum lipids or body weight, associated with consumption of olestra-containing savory snacks. However, the low use of olestra by the study sample limited the ability of this study to detect significant effects.