The contribution of foods to the dietary lipid profile of a Spanish population.

Objective: To identify the food that has the greatest effect on the variation in the percentage of energy intake derived from fat and saturated fatty acids for the consumption of a Spanish population.

Design: A cross-sectional study of food consumption, using the 24-hour recall method for three non-consecutive days, one of which was a non-working day. Subjects were interviewed by trained interviewers in the subjects' homes. We used multiple linear regression for statistical analysis.

Setting: The citizens of Reus.

Subjects: One thousand and sixty subjects over five years old, randomly selected from the population census of Reus.

Results: In both sexes, the foods that mainly determine a high consumption of fat are oil and red meat while those that determine a lower consumption of fat are bread, savoury cereals and fruit. The foods that mainly determine a high consumption of saturated fatty acids are red meat and whole-fat dairy products while those that determine a low consumption are bread, savoury cereals and fruit.

Conclusions: In our population, feasible variations in the intake of some foods - less than one portion - would reduce the estimated percentage of energy intake derived from fat and saturated fatty acids by a quantity considered important for cardiovascular disease prevention. The periodic identification and quantification of the food that most affects the dietary fat profile will help in drawing up dietary guidelines with more reasonable strategies for consuming a healthier diet and decreasing the risk of developing nutritional disorders.