Nutritive content of college meals. II. Lipids

Two samples, each consisting of two breakfasts, two lunches, and two dinners as offered to college students, were collected for seven consecutive days from each of fifty colleges. Two samples of the composited meals from each college were analyzed for fat and fatty acids. The fat content of the meals averaged 125.58 gm., with a range of 96.96 to 163.74 gm. This provided an average of 42.33 per cent of total calories, (range, 36.68 to 47.67 per cent). No college served meals with as little as 35 per cent of calories derived from fat. The meals contained an average of 46.3 gm. saturated fatty acids; 48.98 gm. mono-unsaturated fatty acids, of which 48.19 gm. were oleic acid; and 18.25 gm. polyunsaturated fatty acids, of which 17.22 gm. were linoleic acid. Four fatty acids--palmitic (C-16); stearic (C-18); oleic (C-18:1); and linoleic (C-18:2)--contributed approximately 92 per cent of the total fatty acids. The average ratio of polyunsaturated fatty acids to saturated fatty acids was 0.39 (range, 0.22 to 0.69). Six colleges served meals with a P:S ratio of 0.30 or below; five colleges had a P:S ratio of 0.50 or above.