Patterns and sources of fat and specific fatty acids intake in the participants of the European Prospective Study of Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) in Spain

BACKGROUND: TO evaluate the fat consumption and main sources of specific fatty acids in adults from the south and north of Spain. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Dietary data from 25,816 women and 15,635 men, aged 29-69 years, participants in the European Prospective Study on Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) recruited in the north (Asturias, Navarra and Guipuzcoa) and south (Murcia and Granada) of Spain, were used in a cross-sectional study. Information of habitual diet was collected by personal interview by means a computerized version of a diet history questionnaire. Energy and nutrient intake was estimated using a conversion table of more than 700 items compiled for the study in Spain. RESULTS: Saturated fatty acid (SFA), monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA) and polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) provided respectively between 11.2 to 13.3%, 15.6 to 20.0% and 5.6 to 7.4% of total calories intake. MUFA/SFA ratio showed values from 1.7 in males to 1.3 in females, the PUFA/SFA ratio showed values from 0.7 in males to 0.5 in males and females, and the n-6/n-3 ratio showed values from 10.8 in females to 7.4 in males. Olive oil was the major contributor (78% in women and 67% in men) of vegetable oils intake, which provides between 7 to 8% of total calories intake and between 31 to 48% of MUFA intake. Daily intake of n-3 fatty acids from fish was between 0.3 to 1.2 g. In most of the provinces whole milk and cheeses in women and preserved meat in men were the major contributors of SFA intake while contribution of red meat was less important. CONCLUSION: Patterns of fat consumption in adult population from the north and south of Spain are very similar.