fat grams vs. calories from fat

Question
Hi Kimberly,

I'm trying to watch my fat intake.  On food labels, should I be concerned with the number of fat grams, or the percentage of calories from fat?
Looking at a low-calorie frozen entree, the nutritional data listed only 9 grams of fat, but the percentage of calories from fat was 80%!!  I couldn't decide if it was a good choice or not.
Thanks for your help.

Lauraa

Answer
Really you need to look at percent daily value!  That is what tells you how much fat that product is taking up of your total days allowance.  At 9 grams of fat that is about 14% DV or that is saying that the 9 grams of fat is 14% of your total daily allowance- 65 grams- (if on 2000 calories).  So when you look at it like that 14 percent is not too bad.  You took up 14% of your fat needs for the day.  What really matters when you look at labels is what you eat the rest of the day.  It matters more what you eat on the whole as opposed to just one food.  As long as you balance things out you are OK.  With fat it is also important to look at what type of fat you are eating.  If it is all saturated fat (the "bad" fat) then it isn't a good choice.  If it is mostly unsaturated fat it is a much better choice.  
Take a look at this web site to give you more help!
http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/foodlab.html#nutrients
As for the frozen meal, if a large percent was unsaturated fat AND if you balanced the meal out with other nutrients such as vegetables, fruit, whole grains then it isn't a bad choice.
Kim Tessmer, RD LD
www.Nutrifocus.net

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