Walter Willett Given Quotations

This does very strongly refute the dominant view in the 1990s, that reducing the amount of fat in the diet would spontaneously lead to weight loss. What's happened to the American diet during this low-fat period is, people were given the idea that if they reduced calories from fat, weight would go down. Clearly, that has not happened.

It was a mistake, and this study really confirms that it was the wrong direction to go for nutritional advice. It did do harm. It was a lost opportunity. People were given the idea that it was only fat calories that counted. This should be the nail in the coffin for low-fat diets.