Fat in the diets of adolescent girls with emphasis on isomeric fatty acids

Abstract

To determine the amount of isomeric fatty acids in the diets of a segment of the American population, daily food intake was collected, using the duplicate portion method, from eight healthy white adolescent girls for 7 days. The fifty-six diets were analyzed for fatty acids by gas-liquid chromatography. The amount of trans isomers of octadecenoic acid (18:1t) in the diets of the eight girls ranged from 3.5 to 8.2% of total fatty acids with an average of 5.3%. Other trans fatty acids included trans isomers of 14:1 and 16:1, and cis,trans and trans,cis isomers of 18:2. No measurable amounts of trans,trans octadecadienoic acid (18:2tt) were found in the diets of the girls. The total trans fatty acid content of the diets averaged 6.5% of total fatty acids. The daily consumption of total trans fatty acids by the eight girls over a 1 wk period averaged 3.1 g, with 2.6 g of this being 18:1t.