Fat, Added Fat, and Obesity in America

In the last post, we saw that carbohydrate and particularly sugar intake have been declining in the US since 1999, even as our obesity rate has continued to climb.

In this post, let's look at another putative driver of obesity: our fat intake, and especially our intake of added fats like seed oils, butter, and olive oil.  Like the graphs in the last post, the data underlying the following graphs come from USDA food disappearance records (not self-reported), and NHANES survey data (1, 2).  Also like the last post, the graph of total fat intake is not adjusted for waste (non-eaten food), while the graph of added fat intake is*.  As a consequence, the figures for total carbohydrate and total fat intake are higher than actual intakes, but still good for illustrating trends.

Here we go.  First, total fat:
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