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What is a Healthy Daily Fat Intake?

Tricia Christensen
Tricia Christensen
Tricia Christensen
Tricia Christensen

Healthy daily fat intake is determined in many ways, but no single number or percentage fits all people. To evaluate appropriate fat intake, there are complex health calculators that consider level of activity, age, present weight, and height to determine the percentage of calories or how many fat grams a person should consume daily. Simplified recommendations exist, like those on My Pyramid®, which merely suggest people make fat intake the most limited part of their diet.

People require a certain amount of fat, because it helps metabolize some vitamins and minerals. Not all fat is equal: there are different types, and some are superior to others. Most nutritional guides suggest that saturated fats, as from meats, dairy, or other products be limited, and recommend that people search for fat sources that are monounsaturated, since these help raise good cholesterol levels. Other fats to avoid, which have no clear benefit, are trans fats. Many food manufacturers limit use of trans fats, but it’s worth reading labels to make sure they’re absent.

Olive oil, in moderation, is a good source of healthy fats and contains antioxidants, which are good for the heart.
Olive oil, in moderation, is a good source of healthy fats and contains antioxidants, which are good for the heart.

An across the board recommendation is that healthy daily fat intake shouldn’t exceed 30% of daily calories. This only works if calorie count is correct for height, weight, age and level of activity, but if this is calculated correctly, people consuming 2000 calories a day could eat up to 600 calories in fats. People might have health issues like high cholesterol or heart disease and they might get recommendations to reduce percentage of fat calories to 20-25%.

Reading labels carefully can help to identify hidden trans fats in prepackaged products.
Reading labels carefully can help to identify hidden trans fats in prepackaged products.

What can be confusing about some ways online calculators for healthy daily fat intake work is they may not take certain factors into account when determining an appropriate level of calories. Instead, they may simple generate a calorie number for maintaining a current weight. keeping weight at present level. In order to lose weight, calorie amount would have to be reduced or activity level needs to increase. This means fat level in grams or percentage of daily fat might need reduction, too.

Widely viewed as one of the healthiest types of cooking oil, canola oil is high in monounsaturated fats.
Widely viewed as one of the healthiest types of cooking oil, canola oil is high in monounsaturated fats.

On the other hand, a useful feature of many healthy daily fat intake calculators is they can specify, in grams, exactly how much fat is appropriate to consume. A 30% percent limit at the 2000 calorie level means having as much as 67 grams of fat a day, which is a fairly generous amount. Another matter of confusion, is that recommendations frequently apply to adults and not children. Even with concern about childhood obesity, children typically need greater fat amounts than adults, and some parents go overboard in limiting fat intake, which may ultimately prove as detrimental as providing an extremely high fat, high calorie diet. Consulting a pediatrician on proper nutrition is advised.

Parents should consult a pediatrician regarding proper child nutrition.
Parents should consult a pediatrician regarding proper child nutrition.

Given slight disagreements about healthy daily fat intake, it’s really suggested that people take this matter up with their physicians. Talking about nutrition in the context of a yearly doctor visit can be helpful. This way, people will get a specific answer that is individually tailored to circumstances like present weight, age, level of activity, and any medical conditions or risks that suggest intake reduction.

Tricia Christensen
Tricia Christensen

Tricia has a Literature degree from Sonoma State University and has been a frequent WiseGEEK contributor for many years. She is especially passionate about reading and writing, although her other interests include medicine, art, film, history, politics, ethics, and religion. Tricia lives in Northern California and is currently working on her first novel.

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Tricia Christensen
Tricia Christensen

Tricia has a Literature degree from Sonoma State University and has been a frequent WiseGEEK contributor for many years. She is especially passionate about reading and writing, although her other interests include medicine, art, film, history, politics, ethics, and religion. Tricia lives in Northern California and is currently working on her first novel.

Learn more...

Discussion Comments

Heavanet

I have known people who were on strict, fat-free diets, and they did not look healthy to me. Their skin looked sallow and gaunt, and they seemed too thin to be healthy.

When you eat the right kinds of fat and eat it in moderation, it is actually good for you. It helps to keep your mind sharp, it gives you energy, and it gives your skin a natural glow.

Raynbow

If you get most of your daily fats from natural sources and avoid deep fried food, animal fats, and trans fats, you should be o.k. with your recommended daily fat intake.

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    • Olive oil, in moderation, is a good source of healthy fats and contains antioxidants, which are good for the heart.
      By: margo555
      Olive oil, in moderation, is a good source of healthy fats and contains antioxidants, which are good for the heart.
    • Reading labels carefully can help to identify hidden trans fats in prepackaged products.
      By: Kadmy
      Reading labels carefully can help to identify hidden trans fats in prepackaged products.
    • Widely viewed as one of the healthiest types of cooking oil, canola oil is high in monounsaturated fats.
      By: branex
      Widely viewed as one of the healthiest types of cooking oil, canola oil is high in monounsaturated fats.
    • Parents should consult a pediatrician regarding proper child nutrition.
      By: Monkey Business
      Parents should consult a pediatrician regarding proper child nutrition.