The Calculation For Percent Of Calories From Fat Intake

Healthy adults should get between 20 and 35 percent of their calories from fat, according to the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Most food labels indicate the number of grams of fat found in a food as well as the percentage of the recommended daily fat intake based on the 2,000-calorie diet it corresponds to. The percentage of calories provided by fat does not usually appear on the label, but you can calculate yourself.

Total Fat Intake

To be able to calculate the percentage of your calories that comes from fat, you need to calculate how many grams of fat you consume. Track the amount of fat you eat in a day. Most foods contain fat, including oils, butter, mayonnaise, meat, eggs, fish, avocado and many processed foods. You can rely on the nutritional information provided on food labels or use any food composition tables to determine your daily fat intake.

Calories From Fat

Each gram of fat provides 9 calories. You can determine the number of calories you eat from fat by multiplying the grams of fat by 9. For example, if you eat 87 g of fat on an average per day, this corresponds to a total of 783 calories in the form of fat. Fat provides more calories compared to protein and fat, which each contains 4 calories per gram.

Total Calorie Intake

Knowing your total calorie intake is essential to calculate the percentage of your daily calories that comes from fat. You can track your calorie intake by using the nutritional information provided on food labels or using an online tracking tool.

Percent of Calories From Fat

To calculate the percentage of your calories that is provided by the fat you eat, divide the amount of calories you get from by your total calorie intake and multiply by 100. For example, if you ate 783 calories from fat out of a total of 2,000 calories, it means that you obtained 39 percent of your calories from your fat intake.