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. 2024 Nov 19;16(22):3940.
doi: 10.3390/nu16223940.

Contributions of Fat and Fatty Acids Intake to the Latin American Diet: Results of ELANS Study

Lilia Yadira Cortés Sanabria  1 , Marianella Herrera-Cuenca  2   3   4 , Martha Cecilia Yépez García  5 , Pablo Hernández  6 , Guillermo Ramírez  7 , Maura Vásquez  7 , Yaritza Sifontes  3   6 , María Reyna Liria-Domínguez  8 , Attilio Rigotti  9 , Mauro Fisberg  10   11 , Agatha Nogueira Previdelli  12 , Irina Kovalskys  13 , Maritza Landaeta-Jiménez  3 , Georgina Gómez  14
Affiliations

Contributions of Fat and Fatty Acids Intake to the Latin American Diet: Results of ELANS Study

Lilia Yadira Cortés Sanabria et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

Background/objectives: Fats, although essential for the proper functioning of the body, have been linked to an increased risk of developing chronic diseases, especially cardiovascular disease. The aim of this study was to evaluate the intake of total fat and its components (saturated, monounsaturated, polyunsaturated, and trans fats) in men and women aged 15 to 65 years of the urban population in eight Latin American countries.

Methods: Survey data were collected from the Latin American Study of Nutrition and Health (ELANS, by its acronym in Spanish), an epidemiological study, including 9218 subjects from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela.

Results: In general, 76.2% of the subjects consumed fat within normal ranges (20-35% of the total caloric value (TCV)). When analyzing its components, a majority of the subjects consumed saturated and polyunsaturated fats within the recommended ranges. However, 94.5% of the population does not comply with the recommended maximum intake of monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) (10-20%), and only 57.5% comply with the intake recommendation for trans fatty acids (TRANS) (0-2%). Likewise, on average, women had a significantly higher intake of all types of fat compared to men. Finally, the average fat intake by age indicates that regardless of the age range, the consumption of all fats except MUFA and TRANS are within the recommended ranges, with MUFA being slightly below and TRANS above.

Conclusions: Even though the fat intake of the population falls within the recommended range, it is necessary to improve the quality by favoring the consumption of MUFA-rich foods regionally accepted, such as avocados, and reducing the consumption of TRANS.

Keywords: ELANS; Latin America; diet; dietary fats; dietary intake; monounsaturated fatty acids; polyunsaturated fatty acids; saturated fatty acids; trans fatty acids.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript; or in the decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Percentage of energy from fat by country.
Figure 2
Figure 2
CHAID segmentation algorithm for fat intake adequacy in three level.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Percentage of energy from fat by country and socioeconomic status.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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