Dietary Fat

What counts as fat? Are some fats better than other fats? While fats are essential for normal body function, some fats are better for you than others. Trans fats, saturated fats and cholesterol are less healthy than polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats.

How much total dietary fat do I need?

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005 recommend that Americans keep their total fat intake within certain limits. This limit is defined as a percentage of your total calorie needs.

You can meet this recommendation by following a healthy meal plan that meets your calorie needs and is designed to provide 20% to 35% of calories from total fat.

The USDA Food Guide (My Pyramid.gov) and DASH eating plan are examples of healthy meal plans that can meet your calorie needs and provide the right amounts of fat.

• MyPyramid.gov lets you enter your age, sex, height, weight, and activity level to get a meal plan specific to your calorie needs.
• DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) Eating Plan (PDF-980k) provides a healthy eating plan with menu examples and recipes to get you started.

If you have children, you may be concerned about whether they should watch their fat intake. For proper growth, children and teens need healthy diets that provide the recommended fat intakes.

Children less than 2 years of age need more calories due to rapid growth and development. For this reason, nonfat and low-fat milks are not recommended for children two years and under.1

Quick Q& A
If some fats are healthier than others, can I eat as much of these fats as I want?
No, it's best to keep your total fat intake between 20 and 35% of your total calories each day. A healthy eating plan such as MyPyramid (link) or the DASH eating plan (link) contain between 20 and 35% of calories as fat. Check out these plans to get the right amounts of fat you need each day.

More Information on Fats

• Trans Fat
• Saturated Fat
• Cholesterol
• Polyunsaturated Fats and Monounsaturated Fats