How Many Calories Does One Gram of Fat Provide?

Fat is a macronutrient, as are carbohydrate and protein. Each macronutrient provides a specific amount of calories per gram. Understanding caloric content of fat enables you to make informed dietary decisions.

Caloric Content

One g of fat provides 9 calories while 1 g of protein or carbohydrate contains 4 calories. For example, a large egg contains 5 g of fat, equal to 45 fat calories.

Function

Dietary fat provides vitamins A, D, E and K. In addition, your body uses fat for energy storage, temperature regulation and metabolism. A 154-lb. man typically stores 100,000 calories of body fat.

Requirements

The U.S. Department of Agriculture suggests obtaining 20 to 35 percent of daily calories from fat. Healthy sources of fat include fish, nuts and lean meat. You should obtain less than 10 percent of your daily calories from saturated fat.

References

• University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, McKinley Health Center: Macronutrients: the Importance of Carbohydrate, Protein, and Fat
• Incredible Egg: Nutrient Chart
• United States Department of Agriculture: Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005, Chapter 6