Despite the relationship between high-fat diets and obesity, fat is a necessary nutrient that provides energy and helps with the absorption of vitamins A, D, E and K, according to the MedlinePlus, a website of the National Institutes of Health. Fat also contributes to the caloric count of the food you eat and has 9 calories per gram. According to an article published in 2006 by the University of New Mexico, the Institute of Medicine has determined that 20 percent to 35 percent of daily caloric intake should come from fat. Food nutrition labels provide the information you need to calculate the number and percentage of calories that come from fat.
Step 1
Find the number of calories per serving listed on the nutrition label.
Step 2
Locate the number of fat grams per serving on the nutrition label.
Step 3
Multiply the number of fat grams by 9. For example, if low-fat deli ham contains 50 calories per serving and has 2 g of fat, multiply 2 by 9 to get 18 calories from fat. This tells you that 18 of the 50 calories come from fat. Divide 18 by 50 and you will find that, in this case, 36 percent of the calories come from fat.
Member Comments