It is wrong to say eat less fat; the real message should be eat more fresh fruits and vegetables.

White advocating low–fat diets it is easier for patients to understand advice given in terms of foods e.g., "Eat more fresh fruit" rather than nutrients or "Reduce your intake of fat to less than 30% of your total energy intake."

The message to reduce fat has been translated by food manufacturers and consumers into a potentially harmful set of food choices.

Instead of replacing high–fat foods with naturally low–fat foods with other benefits, such as fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole grain foods, consumers have often increased their consumption of low–fat or "fat–free" varieties of naturally high–fat foods, such as fat–free snack or junk foods.

The result is an increase in refined carbohydrates which lower good HDL–cholesterol concentrations with a possible increase in the incidence of type 2 diabetes and obesity, and failure to gain the benefits of more.