A COMPARISON OF FAT INTAKE OF NORMAL-WEIGHT, MODERATELY OBESE AND SEVERELY OBESE SUBJECTS

Background: Excess dietary fat has been implicated in the etiology of obesity.Methods: This study examined the fat intake of three weight gr oups, normal (20.0 less than or equal to BMI less than or equal to 27. 0), moderately obese (27.1 less than or equal to BMI less than or equa l to 39.9) and severely obese (BMI greater than or equal to 40.0). Eac h group contained 50 subjects. Detailed 3-day food records were used t o gather the nutritional data. Anthropometric and sociodemographic inf ormation was also collected. Results: Overall fat intake was 89 +/- 42 g/day or 37 +/- 10% of total energy. Total fat (g/1000 kcalories) int ake was found to be significantly higher in the obese groups (p < 0.05 ). Subjects in the moderately and severely obese groups consumed signi ficantly more fat and cholesterol and less carbohydrate than did norma l weight subjects. Compared to the normal weight subjects, obese subje cts also had higher intakes of saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsa turated fat (as a percentage of dietary energy). There was no differen ce in energy or protein intake, and P/S ratio among the three groups. BMI was strongly positively correlated with total fat, saturated, mono unsaturated, polyunsaturated fat, cholesterol, and protein intake (as g/day only), and negatively correlated with carbohydrate intake and th e CHO/FAT ratio. Energy intake was not significantly associated with B MI. Conclusion: A high fat diet may promote obesity, independently of its calorie contribution.