98% fat-free

[Bomber Spirit]

Maybe I've just got a warped mind that I even think about this sort of thing, but while cooking a pasta disaster for tea tonight this thought occurred to me:

Why do products claim to be "98% (or whatever) fat-free"? Why don't they just say "2% fat" or even "only 2% fat"? It would save on ink and say the same thing in a less confusing way.

 

[you_idiot]

My most favourite snack in the whole world is 99% fat free... snakes!!

Also known in the USA as... gummy worms!!

Or, like I tell Jen...

"Look, honey! I've got worms!!"

to which she replies, "Then you're sleeping on the couch."



Cheers,
William

 

[goal_umpire]

That's actually pretty funny, Will

 

[BluesBabe666]

But i thought if you read the small print and worked out how many grams were in the packet or whatever, you would find out that it only refers to a certain amount of grams being 98% fat free, so you'd find the whole packet in total would have 40% fat free or something like that... its dodgy as. Gotta read the fine print!!!

 

[mantis]

You are spot on BB666, 98% fat free is a furphy, read the fine print & you will see there is a lot more than 2% fat in the contents, saying that you are still lowering your fat intake by eating those foods.

Bomber Spirit, I thought I told you that eating pasta at night is a no no, you have to burn them up otherwise they cause you to gain weight. you should only have carbo's before 2pm, that way your body will use them up.

 

[BluesBabe666]

Hey Mantis, thanks - its not oft that i am spot on!!!

As for pasta, thats so sad. Carbs are bad..... our diets are so limited!!

 

[CarterS]

It's all psychological, the same reason why a product would be priced $99.95 instead of $100.

 

[mantis]

Originally posted by BluesBabe666
Hey Mantis, thanks - its not oft that i am spot on!!!

As for pasta, thats so sad. Carbs are bad..... our diets are so limited!!

Carbs are good as long as you eat them during the day while you are active, you need them for energy, just that you don't need them before bedtime, well unless you are planning a lot of activity in bed.

 

[BluesBabe666]

Originally posted by mantis


Carbs are good as long as you eat them during the day while you are active, you need them for energy, just that you don't need them before bedtime, well unless you are planning a lot of activity in bed.

Heh, no comment!!! I used to always eat pasta for tea, then lounge around in the evenings. Tuna pasta and spag bol on Monday thru to Thurs.... better stop that ey?

 

[BluesBabe666]

Originally posted by CarterS
It's all psychological, the same reason why a product would be priced $99.95 instead of $100.

You got that right Carter - and sadly, all that still works! All we do is look at the first number... (for those that even do that - i just know what i want, and pick it up!)

 

[mantis]

Originally posted by BluesBabe666


Heh, no comment!!! I used to always eat pasta for tea, then lounge around in the evenings. Tuna pasta and spag bol on Monday thru to Thurs.... better stop that ey?

Only if you are trying to lose weight, if you don't have a problem with your weight then don't worry, especially during winter, need a bit more fat to try & keep warm.

 

[you_idiot]

Originally posted by suzi_olsen
That's actually pretty funny, Will

Thanks, Suz. Hanging around us can be a laugh a minute, literally, at times.

And speaking of pasta...

Whenever Jen and I go through the pasta aisle at the supermarket...

Me (pointing right at it): "Look, honey! Nookie!!"

Jen (blushing, and this never fails): "No, Will, that's gnocchi..."

Me (giving the big, fat, dumb guy look): "Oh, OK... looks like it says 'nookie'."

And yes, Sandie-- that always happend BEFORE 2 p.m.

Cheers,
William

 

[BluesBabe666]

Originally posted by mantis


Only if you are trying to lose weight, if you don't have a problem with your weight then don't worry, especially during winter, need a bit more fat to try & keep warm.

Not trying to LOSE weight, just want to keep it away!!

And you_id - i always called it G - Knocky!! No silent G!!!

 

[you_idiot]

Actually, BB666, it's a cultural thing. No matter where I've been, it's not pronounced the same way twice.

In the USA, it's pronounced "NO-kee"...

Here in Australia, it's pronounced "knock-KEE"... Like I said, looks and sounds like "nookie"...

Interesting...

Cheers,
William

 

[BluesBabe666]

Hmm... makes you wonder what Freds song was really about eh? Pasta?? Sticking gnocchi up yer jacksie?? Ah, never mind!!!

 

[Mobbs]

Nyokky ... I think, is how its meant to be pronounced.

Myself and my wife have a fine time arguing over which sounds the stinkiest, pooh-ma or pew-ma.

And cheese kranskis are the best for a fat-free diet, take it from me, who probably looks after his health better than anyone else he knows.

 

[BluesBabe666]

I thought cheese was fatty? I dont like cheese anyway. My weaknesses would have to be fish n chips, kfc, pizza - bad stuff!! Give me that over sweets any day. But, no more!

 

[Rohan_]

98% fat free doesn't mean much. The content of fat may be 2% but in order to "get rid" of this fat, other forms of energy are added such as Carbohydrates or Protein. This means the calorie content will increase and the chances of losing weight of these products is minimal.

 

[TigerCraig]

With you BluesBabe - love the salt, you can keep the sweets. When I was a kid I used to even add salt to Smiths Crisps.

btw, the pigs are cute, but I preferred the devil

 

[BluesBabe666]

Thanks Tiger, the pigs are on their way out - just mucking around with avatars and wanted an animated one - there arent any good ones around!! So yeah, its back to the devil!

Salt on potato chips, thats a new one!! Soy sauce on potato chips is a good one!

 

[TigerCraig]

Used to like the old Smiths chip sandwiches when I was at school too. Still have one every now & then (only plain original though, none of these new fangled flavours).

mmmmm Salt, is there anything it can't do

best thing is it increases the thirst for beer too (mmmm beer)

 

[BomberGal]

Originally posted by Bomber Spirit


Why do products claim to be "98% (or whatever) fat-free"? Why don't they just say "2% fat" or even "only 2% fat"? :

Think about it this way. What sounds better? That something has "fat" or that something is "fat free"? The association with the word "free" is much more positive.

Are you more inclined to buy a product which is (not that this would be advertised!) "95% fat" or "5% fat free"? It's stupid, but the second one sounds much better.

 

[joshhem]

Well it sorta started with milk.... Originally there was a bit of a misconseption that milk was really fatty anywhere from 2-80%, but then the marketers of milk wanted to change that image so they advertised that 98% of the product was fat free.

 

[Hurricane75]

Interestingly enough, there are a lot of people who are turned off by the term "fat free". A lot of people won't buy it because they assume it won't taste good.

 

[True_Roo]

Re: Re: 98% fat-free

Originally posted by BomberGal


Think about it this way. What sounds better? That something has "fat" or that something is "fat free"? The association with the word "free" is much more positive.

Are you more inclined to buy a product which is (not that this would be advertised!) "95% fat" or "5% fat free"? It's stupid, but the second one sounds much better.

Exactly right - it's just smart marketing.

There are many ways to market things in a positive light.

Take cows' Milk for example, they market it as only having %4 fat. That sounds pretty healthy doesn't it? What they're not telling you, however, is that milk is very concentrated. For example: 100mls contains 4 grams of fat, so an average glass of milk contains about 8 grams of fat - which is quite a lot.

Another problem is sugar: something may be very low in fat but high in sugar - without exercise , this glucose will eventually turn into fat. They'll often list this sugar as a carbohydrate, more smart marketing