Fat Intake Calculator

The US National Academies' Acceptable Macronutrient Distribution Range for fat is 20–35% of daily calories for adults, and the World Health Organization recommends that total fat stays at or below 30%. Within that, saturated fat should be less than 10% of calories, and industrially produced trans fat as low as possible. Fat provides about 9 kcal per gram, so the calculator divides the calories from fat by 9 to get grams.

Unsaturated fats — in olive and rapeseed oil, nuts, seeds, avocados and oily fish — are linked with lower risk of heart disease when they replace saturated fat. Oily fish such as salmon, mackerel and sardines also supply omega-3 fatty acids, which most people eat too little of. Saturated fat, found mainly in fatty meat, butter, cheese, cream, coconut and palm oil, raises LDL cholesterol in many people, which is why it is limited. Trans fats from partially hydrogenated oils are the most harmful and have been banned or restricted in many countries.

Very low-fat diets, under about 20% of calories, can make it hard to get enough essential fatty acids and fat-soluble vitamins. Higher-fat diets, such as ketogenic diets with 70% of calories from fat, work for some people when carbohydrates are cut sharply, but they should be planned carefully and are not suitable for everyone — for example people with some liver, pancreas or gallbladder conditions. For weight control, total calories matter more than the balance between fat and carbohydrate; choose the balance that keeps you full and that you can maintain.

Cooking with olive or rapeseed oil instead of butter, choosing lean meat or fish over processed meat, snacking on a handful of nuts instead of biscuits, and using yoghurt instead of cream are easy ways to shift the balance towards unsaturated fat without changing how much you eat. Eating oily fish once or twice a week covers most people's omega-3 needs.

Once you know your fat target, the Macro Calculator can combine it with protein and carbohydrates for a complete plan, and the TDEE Calculator tells you how many calories you need. Reading nutrition labels for total and saturated fat per portion makes it easy to see how individual foods fit into your daily budget.