Dietary fat has been receiving bad press for years. At first it was just saturated fats, because they can raise blood cholesterol. Conversely, polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats were thought to be good because they did not do so.
Then all fat was deemed "bad", and Americans were urged to consume as little as they could. Some have even gone so far as to advocate giving young children (under 2 years of age) non-fat milk. This is advice that no responsible pediatrician would endorse.
A major rationale for this fat obsession has been the realization that obesity is increasing in the United States. Since fat is the most energy-dense nutrient (9 calories per gram), it made sense to warn people that a diet high in fat could lead to overconsumption of calories, and that to...