New dietary data and information on the nature of the fats and fatty acids present in foodstuffs have been put together. National average visible fat consumption is about 13 g/head/d, made up of vegetable oil 79%, ghee 3% and vanaspati 18%, with distinct regional variations. Average rural diets carry about 21.5 g/CU/d (range 37.1 to 14.0 g) of invisible fat, about two-third of which is from cereals. In the southern states, fresh coconut and spices are both substantial contributors. The contribution of total fat (visible plus invisible) to dietary energy in rural diets averages 13.2 en%, and ranges for 13 stares from 19.9 to 7.7 en%; the poorest sections show a figure of 10 en%, and affluent groups in urban areas from 25 to 37 en%, exceeding sometimes the health risk figure of 30 en%. Of the two essential fatty acids, linoleic acid contributes an average of 3.32 en%, or 8.7 g/CU/d, to rural diets (of which 74% derives from invisible fat), and linolenic acid 0.38 en%, or 1.01 g/CU/d (of which 62% comes from invisible fat). The 1989 recommendations of the Indian Council for Medical Research, based on these considerations, prescribe for an adult male, e.g., 20 g/d of a fat containing 20% of linoleic acid. The desirable relative proportions of saturated, oleic and polyunsaturated fatty acids on current evidence are about 40:28:32, which Indian diets approach closely. A higher dietary intake of linolenic acid would serve to attain a better linoleic/linolenic acid ratio of about 8:1, and could be had by regular consumption bf more green leafy vegetables, of some rape-mustard oil, or of some fish. The presence in sesame, ricebran, and palm oils of powerful natural antioxidants favour their inclusion as cooking fats. Health risks could arise on several counts. The high erucic acid level in traditional mustard oils, suggests caution in their use till varieties low in this component are produced in India. Other hazards are posed by aflatoxins in unrefined groundnut oil, from argemone oil as a contaminant in other oils, ar;d through excessive consumption of trans-fatty acids by way of vanaspati. Newborn babies obtain from breast milk as much as 30 g of fat/d with a high content of varied polyunsaturated fatty acids. Weaning constitutes a distinct danger point in respect of both the quantity and quality of fat imbibed.
