Fat Intake Calculator: How Much Fat Per Day Is Needed?

Dietary fats

Fat is indispensable for proper body functioning as there are specific body organs and consuming a low fat diet can have detrimental effects on brains, lungs, immune system and heart. This subset of lipids called fat is not only source of energy from the diet but also regulate processes from the cholesterol fats and the lipid molecules like those on the surface of the cells. It is prudent to have a clear vision about how much fat an individual’s body requires to perform perfectly. A fat intake calculator is handy when you hunt for the right tool to judge quantity of fat intake.

The link between low fat consumption and weakness of lungs is directly proportional. It is a challenge to determine how much grams and what kind of fat a human body needs, but it is important to have this detail. For this popularity of how many grams of fat per day calculator is uphill. Though fat is one of the compulsory nutrients, along carbohydrates and proteins in the diet, it is worth mentioning there remains a subtle balance flanked by what is little and what is too much fat consumption.

Brief overview of fat intake calculator

To create a dietary detail it is mandatory to envisage the quantifiable fat intake amount. Tracking fat consumption amount in grams helps to create the perfect dietary guideline. This fat intake calculation tool or daily fat intake calculator estimate your daily fat needs based on your personal details. The online fat intake calculator might also need personal data like gender, height, age and weight to initiate the calculation to deduce amount of required fat in a human body.

While using the fat intake calculator following details are necessary:

• Mode of exercise: Sedentary, Light, moderate, very active or extreme
• Sedentary ( Almost no exercise or minimal workout in a week)
• Light exercise (2-3 times workout in a week)
• Moderate exercise (4 times workout in a week)
• Active exercise (5 times workout in a week)
• Intense exercise (5 times intense workout in a week)

To calculate fat percentage from the entire diet, the fat intake calculator first computes the daily calorie needs using the Mifflin-St Jeor equations as mentioned below:

• Female: BMR = 10 x Weight [ in kg] + 6.25 x Height [ in cm] – 5 x Age [in years] + 5
• Male: BMR = 10 x Weight [in kg] + 6.25 x Height [in cm] – 5 x Age[ in years] – 161

Adults are recommended to have take 20 – 35% of their daily calorie intake from fat.

Foods with high fat content

Broadly fats can be divided into two main categories as follows:

• Saturated fat
• Unsaturated fat

Saturated fat or fatty acids remain present in beef, lamb, chicken, pork, egg yolk etc. Besides, this kind of fat also remains in foods like butter, milk, ice cream, and cheese. Saturated fatty acids remain high in oils like coconut oil, palm oil, margarine, etc. Some other foods high in saturated fats include burgers, pies, and cookies. They are high in sugar also. On the contrary unsaturated fats remain in canola oil, peanut oil, olive oil, pecans, and avocados. There remains a different kind of fat called polyunsaturated fatty acids and they are mainly found in corn, soybean, sunflower, etc. Broadly it can be considered that fish and vegetable oils, and fatty foods like hummus, avocado, nuts, and seeds contain beneficial fats.

Determining your daily fat consumption

Balancing the type and amount of fat can be quite tricky. The right balance is important for your overall health. Intake of unsaturated fat has immense health benefits. Especially children need to take fat to stay healthy and it is advisable for them to take whole milk instead of low fat milk. It is worth mentioning that excess intake of this kind of fat has negative side effects.

Replacement of saturated fat with unsaturated fat is a good idea. Elimination of trans fat from diet ensures better health. It is recommended to consume cholesterol less than 300 mg a day. Consumption of less than 10% of daily caloric requirement in the form of saturated fatty acid is okay. But limiting intake of less than 7% saturated fat a day reduces probabilities of heart disease. While calculating daily fat intake with the help of fat intake calculator, a quick look at fat intake by age can be helpful.

Basic calculation of daily fat intake

To calculate daily fat intake divide calories from food and drink from fat by total calories (It is noteworthy that this details are available in product label). Next, multiply it by 100.

Example: When a 600 calorie food has 120 calories from fat, it is necessary to divide 120 by 600. Then multiply it by 100 to get the percentage. Here, the percentage is 20.

(120÷600=0.2 / 0.2×100=20).

Count calories from fat

Health consciousness is at a rise across planet and big time requirement of fat intake calculator has been observed. Following the simple calculation as described in the section above it is wise to calculate calories from fat. Kids should have 25% to 30% of total calories from fat and toddlers should take 30% to 40% of total calories from fats. In case of adults

To calculate calories from fat, locate the quantity of fat from the product label. Fresh products might not have the trans fat details, it is advisable to check from the nutritional database. Next, total grams of fat should be multiplied by nine. There remain nine calories in one gram of fat.

Amount of fat an individual needs

Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats are considered as healthy fats while Saturated and Trans fats are considered to be unhealthy fats.

While fat is not converted to energy and accumulates within an individual’s body, it is harmful and results weight gain and further health complications. Saturated fats derived from high fat meats and dairy must be avoided.

Foods with fat content help human body in vitamin absorption such as A, D or E.

Excessive fat intake influences rise in cholesterol levels. And this in turn results heart disease, diabetes, stroke and obesity. It is recommended to calculate calories from fat and keep observation on calorie intake.

1 gram of fat has 9 calories

Therefore, the average number of grams based on a 2000 calories/day intake would range between 44 to 78 grams.

Example of a calculation

If a male, aged 30 year and weighing 178 lbs with a height of 5ft 8in with a Light exercise lifestyle and consumes 25% of diet comprising of fat:

For normal maintenance of his body, fat intake requirement, without any weight loss and weight gain and with 4 meals a day: 93.1 grams.

Fat in regular diet plan

In every diet striking a balance between fat, carbohydrate and protein is necessary, this is to attain a good health. Increase or decrease of fat content can directly influence calorie accumulation and expenditure. Dieticians suggest that 30 % of every diet should be fat and precisely 70% of this fat content needs to be unsaturated fat. Intake of polyunsaturated fats like linoleic acid in the form of salad oil and fatty acid is advisable. It is an essential nutrient as it helps to produce fatty acids like omega-6.

Monitor fat intake can weight loss

Health calculators help to calculate calories accumulated from fat and calories burnt during exercise, daily lifestyle and work. The goal of achieving weight loss is possible when quantity of fat intake is lesser than the calories burn or calorie expenditure. By following the attainable expenditure and taking fat lesser than that amount definitely results loss in weight. It is quite essential to calculate calories from fat before initiating the exercise diet to lose weight; else lack or deficit of body fat can lead to physical degeneration of an individual.