The post title is similar to the one used by The Telegraph for its article on a new food additive that has just been cleared for addition to UK foods.

In this case, however, I am not sure the results will be anything other than increased sales for the manufacturer concerned and some rather disappointed cake stuffers :

On its way to a supermarket near you – the pudding that makes you slimmer

Puddings and sweets which are said by food-makers to help you slim are set to go appear on the shelves of British supermarkets.

A food manufacturer claims its has found an extract from the chilli pepper that makes the body burn more calories and now wants to add it to a range of everyday foods, including desserts, confectionary, baking and cereals.

The “unique” weight management aid has been approved as safe by Britain’s food watchdog and, subject to further tests by EU officials, will be offered to slimmers.

The extract, dihydrocapsiate (DHC), is already sold in the US and Japan in the form of diet supplement pills. But this would be the first time DHC has been used as a food additive.

The list of foods which the company wants to target for the new weight loss aid includes “baked goods, beverages, confectionery, cereals and desserts”, according to a document sent to the Food Standards Agency (FSA).

The pudding that makes you slimmer indeed.

It will be quite interesting to see the claims they are allowed to make on these enhanced foods when they finally reach the shelves.

Approval to add a substance to food is one thing as it is only a safety judgement. The marketing and promotion is another matter completely and in our case will sit with the advertising standards authority.

Headlines such as the one in this article coupled with increasingly dumbed down consumers will most likely ensure great sales of the enhanced foods but the actual results will most likely disappoint as the crucial detail is tucked away right at the end of the article :

But dietitians warned that cakes which burned calories could offer false hope to people wanting to lose weight.

Catherine Collins, British Dietetic Association spokesman said results from the company’s trials suggested that someone weighing 15 and three quarters stones would burn an extra 50 calories a day if they take DHC.

“It’s the equivalent of a digestive biscuit,” she said.

An extra 50 calories per day burnt off equates to around 1 pound of fat lost in 70 days or so (a pound of fat being around 3500 calories) as long as total consumption and exercise remain unchanged.

Unfortunately, I am pretty sure that people will decide to start munching on a few of these special miracle cakes on top of their normal intake because they will believe the marketing which tells them that they can be used as a weight loss aid.

As a typical cake slice is around 200 calories, adding an extra portion of the additive enhanced cake to your diet per week will actually increase your calorie intake by 150 calories per week (200 less the 50 burned through the added chilli extract) which equates to adding around 2 pounds of fat per year.

Not quite the result you would expect from a “pudding that makes you slim” is it?