Dietary-fat intake in the US population

Objective: This article looks at the food group choices by individuals grou ped based on fat intake, saturated fat intake, and use of lowfat foods. Methods: Food consumption data from USDA's National Food Consumption Survey s (NFCS) and the Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals (CSFII) w ere used to look at changes in the mean energy, percent calories from fat a nd saturated-fat and total-fat intakes over time. USDA's 1995 CSFII data we re used to evaluate the diets of individuals grouped based on percent calor ies from fat and use of low-fat foods. Individuals six to 50 years old who had complete food intake records were included and five age-gender classifi cations were used. Results: The percent of calories from total fat and saturated fat have stea dily declined over the last 30 years, and the amount of fat in the diet has increased from 1989 to 1995. Those whose diets met the Dietary Guidelines Recommendations for fat and saturated fat had lower fat intakes. Except for adult males, those with low-fat diets had higher intakes of total-food amo unt. Also, lower saturated-fat intakes were associated with lower energy in takes. In general, high-fruit-and-grain-products consumption were seen in g roups with low-fat intake. For those who included low-fat foods in their di ets and also had low-fat intakes, rice and pasta were the major foods of ch oice for calories. Fried potatoes were one of the main sources of calories for high-fat groups. Conclusion: The study showed individuals whose diets included low-fat foods are more likely to have a diet that meets the dietary guidelines recommend ations for fat and saturated fat.