Forget diets; Cutting down on fat will keep you slim

LONDON (REUTERS) - Forget fad diets pushing cabbage soup, weight-loss shakes or maple syrup. Swapping fatty foods for low-fat alternatives will keep you slim - and now there's World Health Organisation (WHO)-backed research to prove it.

A review of 33 trials involving 73,589 men, women and children in America, Europe and New Zealand found that choosing low fat foods helped people lose around 1.59kg, slim their waist-lines and cut bad cholesterol - all without dieting.

Researchers who led the study said its results prove for the first time that people can lose weight without trying to.

"The weight reduction.. when people ate less fat was remarkably consistent - we saw it in almost every trial. Those who cut down more on fat lost more weight," said Dr Lee Hooper from the University of East Anglia medical school, who led the work.