Nonfat Foods Can Make You Fat

Digestion of excess quantities of high-carbohydrate snacks, such as
cookies, soda, and potato chips, leads to the synthesis of the fatty acid
palmitate, which is stored in adipose tissue. Glucose, the primary product
of carbohydrate digestion, is converted to pyruvate in the glycolytic
pathway, which is used to generate acetyl-CoA by the enzyme pyruvate
dehydrogenase (PDH). Conversion of acetyl-CoA to malonyl-CoA by
acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC) stimulates fatty acid synthesis by the
enzyme fatty acid synthase. Synthesis of triacylglycerols from palmitate, a
product of the fatty acid synthase reaction, results in increased fat stores in
adipose tissue. Taken together, excess consumption of carbohydrate-rich
foods and beverages, even if they are low in fat, results in increased fatty
acid synthesis and fat storage, which elevates the risk of developing diabetes
and cardiovascular disease.