OVER CONSUMPTION OF FAT BY COLLEGE-STUDENTS - THE FAST-FOOD CONNECTION

College students (416) in an introductory nutrition class were surveye d to determine how college students categorize foods and to establish the relationships between fat intake (3-day diet record), everyday foo d choices and fat practices (frequency survey), and fast-food use (att endance and food consumption). Factor analysis of everyday food choice s resulted in five groupings, three high-fat and two low-fat. Males av eraged 84 g fat/day (range 26-212); women 61 g fat/day (range 25-201). Fat intake was almost double for students with the highest fast-food attendance (97 g) compared to the lowest (50 g). Fast-food intake does not necessarily contribute a great amount of fat to the overall diet, but is predictive of a certain type of high-fat dietary pattern.