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What are fats?

Fats are one of the main nutrient groups in food that supply energy.
They are naturally present in foods like meat and dairy products.
Fats can also be added during food preparation at home (e.g. through the use of oil or butter),
or by food manufacturers (e.g. in the production of pastries and snack foods).

The building blocks of fats and oils are fatty acids.
Fatty acids are chains of carbon atoms with hydrogen atoms attached to the carbon atoms.
The properties of a certain fat or oil are determined by the type of fatty acids it contains.


What are the different types of fat?

There are four types of fat: saturated fat, monounsaturated fat, polyunsaturated fat and trans fat.

Saturated fatty acids contain all the hydrogen atoms that they can hold,
while unsaturated fatty acids have missing hydrogen atoms which are replaced by a double bond.
Monounsaturated fatty acids have one double bond,
whereas polyunsaturated fatty acids have more than one double bond.


Trans fatty acids are unsaturated fatty acids in which the hydrogen atoms are on opposite sides of the carbon chain at the double bond location.


Fats and oils in food are a mixture of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids.
Fats or oils that contain mostly saturated fatty acids are often termed "saturated fat";
likewise, those that contain mostly unsaturated fatty acids of either type are termed "monounsaturated fat" or "polyunsaturated fat".


Do we need fats in the diet?

Yes! Fats have many important roles to play in the body:

Fat is the main energy store in the body.
The body's store of fat is used to meet energy demands when a person does not consume enough food, for example when having a poor appetite due to illness or during times of starvation.
The body's fat stores are also needed when energy requirements are high, such as during prolonged exercise or during periods of rapid growth in babies.

Fat deposits act as a cushion for vital organs and help to insulate the body.
Fat is a carrier for the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K, and helps in their absorption by the body.
Fat is a source of essential fatty acids, such as omega-3, which cannot be made in the body and must be obtained through food sources.

While we certainly require some fat in the diet, consuming too much fat can adversely affect our health.
Fat is a concentrated source of energy, supplying more than twice the amount of calories per gram than either carbohydrate or protein do.

Thus, consuming a diet high in fat will likely provide excess calories.

If you consistently consume more calories than you burn through physical activity, you will gain weight and may become overweight.

Being overweight increases the risk for diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke and even some forms of cancer.

The recommended total fat intake is between 25% to 30% of the total energy intake.

Based on a typical 2000 kcal diet for the average adult, the total fat allowance is about 55g to 65g per day.