After the 10-week study, moderate-fat dieters had a 14 percent reduction in cardiovascular disease risk compared to the nine-percent improvement in the low-fat dieters. Both groups lost the same amount of weight, between 2.4 and 2.7 pounds.

The study was split into two sections. Participants ate their diet's fat level designed for weight loss for the first six weeks, and for the next four weeks, they maintained a similar diet.

Penny Kris-Etherton, the professor of nutrition at Penn State who ran the study, emphasized the differences during the last four weeks.

"While the low-fat diet successfully reduced risk factors during the weight-loss phase of the study, those factors rebounded during the maintenance phase," Kris-Etherton said.

Triglycerides, a form of energy that aids in storing fat that blocks arteries, rose significantly during the maintenance period in low-fat dieters but not in the moderate-fat dieters. Moderate-fat dieters also triumphed in maintaining their "good" high-density level (HDL) cholesterol, while low-fat dieters experienced a 12-percent decrease.

"HDL cholesterol are like snow plows in the arteries," said Michele Wood, a south central Pennsylvania dietitian who specializes in cardiovascular disease management. "They help keep arteries open and prevent plaque on the walls."

HDL cholesterol can also increase with physical activity, which should always be considered when looking at a person's diet, Wood added.

Most dietitians recommend one of two meal plans. The first is a low-fat diet consisting of lean cuts of fish, low-fat yogurts and other food providing about 18 percent of calories from fat. The other option is a moderate-fat diet including fruits, vegetables, meats and peanut butter yielding about 33 percent calories from fat.

A physically active person can eat diets with more than 60 grams of fat. That means the occasional splurges aren't so bad for those who spend a lot of time in the gym.

"It's okay to have wonderful homemade ice cream, like the Creamery, if you can get out and ride a bike," Wood said.

However, moderate-fat dieters still need to practice self-control. Wood is not advocating that anyone eats according to the depression-era myths to coat your insides with all the fat possible, including four-percent milk, sticks of butter and other whole forms of fat. Since those days, America has dramatically changed its view on what is healthy.

Around 1980, America emulated Italy and Greece in using more plant-based oils. The nation had realized high-fat diets were unhealthy around this time, partly in response to the trans-fatty acids in snack foods.

Trans-fatty acids are similar to saturated fats and are created by adding hydrogen to unsaturated fats to help food preservation.

"With what we knew about high-fat diets, we jumped on the bandwagon and went the other way, to low fat diets," Wood said.

Recently, researchers have explored the middle ground. Results show that all ages can benefit from eating fats moderately.

"You just need to have everything in moderation," Wood said. "With children, parents are often so fat phobic that they take peanut butter away from them. Maybe kids have it right."

A recent study led by Lynn Moore of Boston University School of Medicine revealed that children starting at preschool age who followed either a low- or high-fat diet had more body fat as adults than children who ate according to a moderate-fat diet. From children to elders, a moderate intake of fat helps all ages.

Children will see benefits of the moderate-fat diet when they are older and adults can use moderate levels of fat to reduce heart risks. Moderate-fat dieters kept weight off longer, have better nutritional intake and are more satisfied because they could eat their favorite foods like peanut butter, according to a report released in 2001 by researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health and Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. For these reasons, dietitians and nutritionists recommend this diet for college students. Also, it is cheap and easy to maintain in the commons -- with a little self-control.