How Much Fat Do You Need to Eat Per Day?

Medically reviewed by Aviv Joshua, MS

Dietary fat is one of the three macronutrients we need for optimal health. Most people need to get about 20–35% of their calories from fat. It’s important for energy, cell function, organ protection, hormone production, and temperature regulation. It also helps your body absorb certain nutrients, including the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K.

Besides its nutritional benefits, dietary fat adds delicious texture and flavor to food. Think about ice cream, peanut butter, or salad dressing; dietary fat is central to the taste of these foods.

In the past, low-fat diets have been incredibly popular, but now high-fat diets like the keto diet are the trend of modern wellness. The truth is that nutrition guidelines recommend a dietary fat intake somewhere in the middle, and your specific needs can vary based on your health status.

Types of Fat

There are two main types of dietary fat: saturated and unsaturated. Most fat-containing foods have a combination of both kinds of fat, but they usually have much more of one than the other. For example, olive oil is a great source of unsaturated fats, but it contains a small amount of saturated fat, too.

Saturated fats are fats that are solid at room temperature. Most saturated fats are found in animal products like butter, lard, or the fat in dairy or red meat. However, coconut oil and palm oil are vegan sources of saturated fat. These are the kinds of fat that should be limited to no more than 10% of your daily caloric intake since eating too many of them increases your risk of high cholesterol and cardiovascular disease.

The other kind of fat to limit is trans fat, which is also called partially hydrogenated oil. This kind of fat is created when hydrogen gets added to liquid vegetable oils so they turn solid. Trans fat is commonly found in fried foods or some baked goods. People with high cholesterol, particularly high LDL cholesterol, should try eliminating trans fats from the diet since this kind of fat can raise LDL cholesterol levels.

The other kind of fat is unsaturated fat. This type of fat is liquid at room temperature and most commonly comes from plant foods. However, fatty fish and eggs are great animal sources of unsaturated fats. These kinds of fat should make up the majority of your fat intake.

Unsaturated fat can be further divided into monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fat; they differ in their chemical structure. Eating either kind of unsaturated fat in place of saturated fat can help improve your cholesterol levels.

Related: What Can Happen After Eating Too Much Healthy Fat?

Daily Fat Intake Recommendations

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend that adults of all genders get 20–35% of their calories from fat. For someone eating 2,000 calories per day, that’s about 45–78 grams of fat per day.

It’s normal to fluctuate within that range depending on the day. Your calorie needs may also be higher than 2,000 based on your age, sex, activity level, and muscle mass, in which case you would need more grams of fat to fall within the 20–35% range.

You’ll also want to consider the kind of fat you eat to meet your daily fat needs. Since saturated fats can raise your cholesterol levels, they should make up no more than 10% of your daily calorie intake. That means that if you eat 2,000 calories a day, your daily saturated fat intake should be under 22 grams.

If your cholesterol levels are already high, it's best to limit saturated fat to no more than 6% of your daily caloric intake. For a 2,000 calorie diet, that’s under 13 grams per day.

There are no specific recommendations for how many grams of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fat to eat, but prioritizing these over saturated fats can benefit cholesterol levels and general heart health.

How to Calculate Your Fat Needs

The grams of fat you need in a day varies based on your calorie intake. Here’s how to calculate your fat needs based on your calorie level.

Start by estimating your daily calorie intake. There’s no need to diligently track this as it will likely vary slightly from day to day based on your activity level and hunger level, but it’s helpful to estimate it for this purpose.

If you estimate your intake is 2,000 calories a day, calculate 20% and 35% of 2,000 to get the range of total calories that should come from fat. That comes out to 400–700 calories from fat.

Next, you’ll have to figure out how many grams of fat that equals. Each gram of fat has 9 calories, so you’ll have to divide the calories from fat by nine to get the total grams of fat. That comes out to about 45 to 78 grams using the 2,000-calorie example.

Using a 2,500-calorie diet as another example, 20–35% of 2,500 calories is 500–875 calories. Next, divide that by nine since each gram of fat has 9 calories. That comes out to 55–97. So, if you eat about 2,500 calories per day, you’ll generally need 55–97 grams of fat.

Eating a Fat-Specific Diet

While the amounts above are general recommendations for fat intake for adults, some people may choose to follow low-fat or high-fat diets.

Low-fat diets are sometimes used for weight loss, although studies haven’t found low-fat diets to lead to weight loss in the long-term. Limiting fat is typically recommended if you have pancreatitis or a gallbladder issue since your body may struggle to break down fats with these health conditions.

There’s no specific criteria for what makes up a low-fat diet, but generally it’s when 30% or less of calories come from fat. So, if you’re following a 2,000-calorie diet, that would mean that you consume 67 grams of fat or less.

Related: Low-Fat Diet Plan: A Guide

High-fat diets, such as the keto diet, are increasingly popular. The classic keto diet includes 85–90% of calories from fat, 6–12% from protein, and only 2–5% from carbohydrates. So, a 2,000-calorie classic ketogenic diet typically includes around 200 grams of fat, 30 grams of protein, and 15 grams of carbs. However, popularized versions of the ketogenic diet include slightly less fat and more carbs and protein.

Talk to your healthcare provider before starting a high-fat diet like the keto diet. Research has found following a keto diet can increase LDL cholesterol and cause nutrient imbalances that may increase the risk of chronic diseases like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, and Alzheimer’s.

Sources of Healthy Fats

There are several healthy sources of fat that make for delicious meals and snacks. Focusing on replacing sources of saturated fat with the foods listed below may be more helpful than calculating your total fat consumption.

Eating healthy sources of fat is important for heart health. Studies have found that replacing saturated fat with unsaturated fat can significantly lower cholesterol. Here are some sources of healthy fats to incorporate regularly in your diet:

• Avocado. Avocados add a flavorful creamy texture to dishes. You can also enjoy an avocado with a splash of lime juice as a snack on its own. Avocados are one of the best sources of monounsaturated fats; they’re also packed with fiber and micronutrients.

• Nuts. Nuts like almonds, pistachios, walnuts, and more are good sources of unsaturated fats and plant protein. They’re also good sources of fiber for digestive health and added cholesterol-lowering benefits.

• Seeds. All kinds of seeds—chia, hemp, pumpkin, and sunflower—are great sources of healthy fats. They can be enjoyed as a snack, sprinkled on salads, or added to smoothies.

• Oils. To increase your intake of unsaturated fat, you can use plant oils (besides coconut or palm oil) to cook and prepare food. That includes canola, corn, olive, peanut, safflower, soybean, sunflower, and vegetable oil. Make homemade salad dressings, sauté veggies, and more.

• Fatty fish. The recommended intake for fatty fish like salmon, herring, mackerel, or sardines is at least two times per week. These fish are a great source of nutrients, particularly omega-3 fatty acids that help reduce inflammation in the body.

Related: The 13 Best Foods to Lower Cholesterol

A Quick Review

High-fat diets have gained popularity among modern wellness trends. For most people, neither a high- or low-fat diet is recommended for health. Getting 20–35% of your calories from fat—45–78 grams on a 2,000-calorie diet—is considered best for health. However, this amount may vary based on your health needs. It’s important to prioritize sources of unsaturated fat for your heart health, so try incorporating foods like nuts, seeds, avocados, and fatty fish to meet your daily fat needs.

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