Fat Intake Calculator

Fat is an essential nutrient, not just a source of Calories to cut. The calculator estimates your daily energy needs and shows how many grams of fat fit within the range recommended for adults, together with an upper limit for saturated fat.

Different Types of Fat

Dietary fat supplies energy, helps the body absorb vitamins A, D, E and K, provides essential fatty acids the body cannot make, and forms part of every cell membrane. Fats are built from fatty acids, which are classed by their chemical structure as saturated, monounsaturated or polyunsaturated, plus trans fats, which are mostly created by industrial processing. Most foods contain a mix, and the type of fat you eat matters more for health than the total amount.

Unhealthy Dietary Fat

Trans fats are the most harmful. Artificial trans fats form when liquid oils are partially hydrogenated to make them solid and shelf-stable, and they were once common in margarine, shortening, fried foods and packaged baked goods. They raise LDL ("bad") cholesterol and lower HDL ("good") cholesterol, increasing the risk of heart disease. The US Food and Drug Administration determined that partially hydrogenated oils are no longer generally recognized as safe, and they have largely been removed from the US food supply since 2018. Small amounts of natural trans fats occur in meat and dairy from cattle and sheep.

Saturated fats are solid at room temperature and found mainly in fatty meats, processed meats, butter, cheese, cream and whole milk, as well as in coconut and palm oils. Diets high in saturated fat raise LDL cholesterol, a major risk factor for heart disease. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend keeping saturated fat below 10% of daily Calories, and the American Heart Association suggests aiming for about 6% for people who need to lower their cholesterol.

What replaces saturated fat matters. Swapping it for unsaturated fats, especially polyunsaturated fats, lowers heart disease risk, while swapping it for refined starches and sugar brings little or no benefit. In practice, this means choosing lean cuts and poultry, cooking with vegetable oils instead of butter, eating fewer processed meats and treating pastries, fried snacks and fast food as occasional foods.

Healthier Dietary Fat

Unsaturated fats are usually liquid at room temperature. Monounsaturated fats are plentiful in olive, canola and peanut oils, avocados and most nuts. Polyunsaturated fats include the omega-6 fats in soybean, corn and sunflower oils and the omega-3 fats in fatty fish such as salmon, sardines and mackerel, as well as walnuts, flaxseed and chia seeds. Eating these in place of saturated and trans fats improves cholesterol levels and supports heart health.

Daily Fat Intake

For adults, the Institute of Medicine's acceptable range is 20% to 35% of daily Calories from fat. Children need a somewhat higher share because they are growing. Very low-fat diets can make it hard to absorb fat-soluble vitamins and get enough essential fatty acids, while diets very high in fat are easy to overeat because fat is so energy-dense: 9 Calories per gram compared with 4 for carbohydrate and protein.

For example, a 25-year-old man who is 5 feet 10 inches tall, weighs 160 pounds and exercises lightly needs about 2,360 Calories a day to maintain his weight. Twenty to 35% of that is about 52 to 92 grams of fat a day, with saturated fat ideally under 26 grams.

Reading the Nutrition Facts label helps you track both total and saturated fat; the Daily Value used on US labels is 78 grams of total fat and 20 grams of saturated fat for a 2,000-Calorie diet.

Fat (g) = daily Calories × fat share ÷ 9

Each gram of fat supplies about 9 Calories. Daily Calories come from the Mifflin-St Jeor (or Katch-McArdle) BMR multiplied by your activity factor.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• Dietary Guidelines for Americans
• American Heart Association – Dietary Fats
• FDA – Trans Fat