(P12-30-26) Saturated Fat Guideline Adherence by Race and Hispanic Origin Among U.S. Adults: NHANES 2017–March 2020

Objectives: To examine adherence to the < 10% total energy from saturated fat guideline across race and Hispanic origin subgroups in a nationally representative sample of U.S. adults.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of adults aged ≥20 y from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2017–March 2020 pre-pandemic cycles with valid Day 1 24-hour dietary recall data. Saturated fat intake was estimated from the Day 1 recall using the USDA Automated Multiple Pass Method and expressed as percentage of total energy. Guideline adherence was defined as < 10% of total energy from saturated fat. Weighted prevalence estimates were calculated, and survey-weighted logistic regression estimated adjusted odds ratios (aORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for adherence across race and Hispanic origin subgroups, adjusting for age, sex, and income-to-poverty ratio. Analyses incorporated NHANES Day 1 dietary sample weights and survey design variables utilizing IBM SPSS Statistics version 29.0.

Results: Analytic sample included 7,707 adults (mean age 50.7 ± 17.4 y; 49.6% men). Overall, 33.6% met the saturated fat guideline, indicating 66.4% exceeded the recommended limit. Adherence varied substantially across subgroups, 28.5% among Non-Hispanic White adults to 55.9% among Non-Hispanic Asian adults, 27.4 percentage-point absolute difference. Compared with Non-Hispanic White adults, Non-Hispanic Asian adults had higher odds of meeting the guideline (aOR=1.70), whereas Mexican American (aOR=0.53), Other Hispanic (aOR=0.73), and Non-Hispanic Black (aOR=0.87) adults had lower odds of adherence.

Conclusions: Only one in three U.S. adults met the saturated fat guideline, with substantial subgroup differences not fully explained by age, sex, or income. These findings provide a useful pre-pandemic benchmark and support population-tailored dietary guidance to improve alignment with national nutrition recommendations.

Funding Sources: No external funding