Daily dietary fat and total food-energy intakes--Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, Phase 1, 1988-91.

Excessive dietary fat intake has been linked to increased risk for obesity, coronary heart disease, and certain cancers (1,2). The Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III), conducted by CDC's National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), provides data to monitor changes in the dietary, nutritional, and health status of the U.S. population (3) and to track progress toward achieving the national health objectives for the year 2000, including that related to dietary fat intake (1). This report uses data from NHANES III, Phase 1 (October 1988-October 1991), to present findings about daily total food-energy, total dietary fat, and saturated fat intakes for the U.S. population.