Among Washington's "fat-free" muffins, "low-fat" salads and "light" Chinese entrees, many are more fat than fact.

The Good-for-You dim sum at the Uptown Cathay in Northwest Washington is billed as "low fat." But just one order of pan-fried vegetable dumplings contained 54 grams of fat, the most nutritionists say a sedentary woman should get in a day.

But in the majority of cases that failed, merchants either were not controlling their product fully or made claims they didn't understand. For example, one maker of "low-fat" baked goods said she had no idea that the federal government even defines low fat, asking a reporter, "What are the guidelines?" One Chinese restaurateur took great pains to develop a "light" menu, but a chef decided on his own that the "light" kung pao chicken tasted better with the fat put back in.