The relation between dietary intake and adipose tissue composition of selected fatty acids in US women

Abstract

We compared fatty acid amounts in adipose tissue with fatty acid intake calculated from 2 separate weeks of diet recording and two food-frequency questionnaires for 140 participants in the Nurses' Health Study. Our results showed that the amounts of polyunsaturated and trans fatty acids in adipose tissue reflect dietary intake and confirm those of previous studies. The correlation between the polyunsaturated fatty acid content of adipose tissue and polyunsaturated fatty acid intake from the average of the two food-frequency questionnaires was 0.40; this correlation for trans fatty acids was also 0.40. Linolenic acid amounts in adipose tissue were also moderately correlated with intake from the average of the food-frequency questionnaires (r = 0.34). An estimate of trans fatty acid intake from vegetable sources correlated much more strongly with adipose trans fatty acids than did an estimate of trans fatty acids from animal sources. Adipose tissue aspirates can be used to indicate intake of exogenous fatty acids.