A diet that is high in fat could cause weight growth. But it's not as simple as eating low fat foods to shed weight. You should also be mindful of how much calories you consume.
Keep in mind that the body stores excess calories as fats regardless of whether they're from trans fat-free, fat-free, or low-fat food items. If you substitute high-fat food items with high-calorie food items, such as sweets, you'll most likely gain weight , rather than losing weight.
To shed weight, you have to consume more calories than you consume. It is possible to do this by working out more often and eating less fat and eating fewer calories.

How Much Fat Do I need to eat?
Experts suggest that adults take 20% to 35 percent from the everyday calorific intake in fat. It's between 44 and 77 grams of fat per day if you consume 2500 calories per day.
Look for nutrition labels on food packaging. Food nutrition labels display the amount in grams fat per serving as well as number of calories for each portion. Take a wide variety of lower fat food items to get all the nutrients you require.
Take a majority of your food from plants (such as fruits, vegetables along with whole grains) along with a portion of low-fat and lean animal-based foods (meat or dairy-based products) to manage your weight, cholesterol, calories, and carbs.
If you're shopping, pick chicken, fish and lean meats. Limit them to 5 to 7 ounces a day.
Other low-fat sources of protein are dried beans, peas tofu, low-fat dairy products and skim or low-fat dairy products, low-fat cheese and tuna that is packed with water.
Consume foods that are rich with omega-3 fatty acids, such like salmon flaxseed, and walnuts for better heart health. It is recommended that you eat walnuts and American Heart Association suggests eating fish that is fatty, such as salmon at least twice a week to reap the health benefits of omega-3 fats.
5 Tips for Cooking Low-Fat
Cut off all visible fats and then remove all visible fat and remove the skin from the bird.
Refrigerate soups, gravies and stews. Remove the hardened fat from the the top prior to eating.
Bake, broil or grill your meats on a rack that lets fat to run off the meat. Do not fry food items.
Use lemon juice and fresh herbs and spices over cooked vegetables, instead of butter, cheese or sauces made of cream.
Try plain, low-fat or nonfat yogurt and chives with baked potatoes, instead of sour cream. Sour cream with reduced fat still contains fat, so you should limit the amount of it you consume.
If You're Dining Out
Make sure to choose simple meals like broiled or roasted chicken or fish. Avoid eating fried or sauteed food items or casseroles as well as dishes that have gravies or sauces that are heavy.
Request that your food is cooked with no gravy, butter, margarine or sauce.
If you're ordering salad, make sure to ask for a low-fat dressing to accompany the salad.
Choose a the fruit such as angel food cake or nonfat frozen yogurt sherbet or sorbet for dessert, instead of cake, ice cream or pie.
Epidemic
The low-fat guidelines first released in 1977. Since that time, the majority of major health associations have not changed their positions.
The introduction of low-fat diet guidelines may be the first step in the epidemic of obesity. The image below says more than 1000 words:

Of course, a lot was changing in the society at that time, and this graph isn't proof that the guidelines were the cause of the obesity epidemic.
But, I personally think it possible that the demonization of the fats and giving processed sugar and refined carbs the green light might have played a role in it.
As consumers began to believe they were eating fat as the source of every evil, all sorts of low-fat junk food came onto the market.
Many of these food items were loaded with refined carbohydrates sugar, refined carbs as well as trans-fats which are connected with diabetes, heart disease as well as obesity, among other ailments that the low-fat diet intended to cure.
The low-fat guidelines first released in 1977. The epidemic of obesity began at the same time It's not known if they are linked.