The following table presents the most consumed sources of added dietary fat in the American diet.
Food availability data are taken from the USDA ERS Food Availability (Per Capita) Data System and calorie information from the Agricultural Research Service National Agricultural Library. All data are for the year 2010.
For more information about what food availability means, how it is measured, how it can be used and how these data are licensed, please read the most consumed foods page. There, you can also download a copy of this table in CSV format.
The ERS aggregates use of all salad and cooking oils under one category. This is partially to avoid double-counting, as large quantities of vegetable oil are used in the production of margarine and shortening.
The calorie information for salad and cooking oils is approximate by necessity, but should be close enough for a first-order approximation. Most oils in this category have extremely similar calorie densities. (For example, soybean, peanut, canola, sunflower and olive oils all have precisely 884 calories per 100 grams in the National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference.)
“Other edible fats and oils” includes ”Specialty fats used mainly in confectionery products and non-dairy creamers”.
The most consumed added fats in the USA
Source of added fat | Availability (lb per capita) | Availability (kcal per capita) | kcal per 100 grams |
|---|---|---|---|
| Salad and cooking oils | 53.57 | 214799 | 884 |
| Shortening | 15.32 | 62556 | 900 |
| Butter | 4.87 | 15824 | 717 |
| Margarine | 3.54 | 11442 | 713 |
| Edible tallow | 3.28 | 13440 | 902 |
| Other edible fats and oils | 1.67 | N/A | N/A |
| Lard | 1.55 | 6337 | 902 |
