The Recommended Fat Intake Per Day For Women

The amount of total fat needed in a woman's diet can be calculated based on recommended total calorie intake. The more calories you need, the more fat you can eat, although the type of fat and the relative amounts of each type of fat you eat has an impact on your health.

How Much Fat Do You Need?

The Institute of Medicine's 2005 report "Dietary Reference Intakes for Energy, Carbohydrate, Fiber, Fat, Fatty Acids, Cholesterol, Protein, and Amino Acids" recommends a fat intake of 20 to 35 percent of daily calories. If you are supposed to eat 2000 calories daily, you may eat between 44 and 78 g of fat per day. An easy way to determine how many calories you need is to use the Mayo Clinic Calorie Calculator. Once you receive your calorie estimate, multiply it by 20 percent (or 0.20) to get the low end of the calories you need from fat, and multiple it by 35 percent (or 0.35) to get the high end of the calories you need from fat. To calculate the actual fat grams you need, take the low end calorie-from-fat amount and divide it by 9, as there are 9 calories in one gram of fat. Then, take the high end calorie-from-fat amount and divide it by 9. This will give you the range of fat intake recommended in grams.

Types of Fat Make a Difference

Fat is made up of fatty acids. The fatty acids that are of particular concern for women are saturated fatty acids, trans fatty acids, and omega-3 fatty acids. Saturated fatty acids contribute to heart disease by raising blood cholesterol levels. Saturated fat is made by the body, so there is little need to consume more from food sources. Trans fatty acids, or trans fats as they are commonly called, are a by-product of a manufacturing process to make liquid fat solid at room temperature. They have been shown to promote heart disease; therefore, you should avoid eating any trans-fats. Omega-3 fatty acids are good for the heart, veins and arteries. Most commonly found in fatty fish, omega-3 fatty acids should be consumed to meet your fat requirements as much as possible. Specific recommendations include adding fish to your diet at least two times per week to increase your intake of omega-3 fatty acids.

The 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends that you limit your intake of saturated fat to 7 percent or less of calories from saturated fat for the best protection against heart disease. If you need 2000 calories per day, that would be no more than 15.5 g of saturated fat per day. The 2010 Dietary Guidelines also recommend that trans fat intake should be as little as possible and that you should eat at least two servings of seafood per week to increase your intake of omega-3 fatty acids.

Specific Recommendations for Women

Women are disproportionately affected by heart disease. The American Heart Association provides guidelines for the dietary intake of women, which recommend limiting the amount of saturated fats and trans fats they consume on a daily basis to prevent the development of heart disease. Women are recommended to increase the amount of omega-3 fatty acids in their diet.

Read Food Labels

Fat is naturally found in foods from animals, avocados, nuts, oils and grains. Fat can be found in any processed food, so it is important to read the food label. Food labels are required to report the amount of total fat, saturated fat and trans fat in foods. Pay attention to the serving size on the food label and the grams of each type of fat.