Food sources and adequacy of intake of omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids in a representative sample of Spanish adults

Taking into account the sanitary importance of the contribution of omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids and given the scarcity of studies on the subject in Spanish collectives, the aims of the present study were to determine the intake of these fatty acids, their adequacy to the established nutritional goals and food sources in a representative sample of the Spanish population. A group of 1,068 adults (521 men and 547 women) with ages ranging from 17 and 60 years were studied. The subjects were selected from ten Spanish provinces to constitute a representative sample of the nationwide population. The intakes of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), omega 3 fatty acids, alpha linolenic acid (ALA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), omega 6 fatty acids, linoleic acid (LA) and arachidonic acid, expressed in g per day and percentage of the total energy intake, were determined by using a food record for 3 consecutive days, including a Sunday. Personal, anthropometric and sanitary data of individuals were also studied. The intake of total fat and saturated fat was higher than the established as advisable in 89.2% and 93.3% of the studied subjects, respectively. The opposite was observed for the intake of PUFA, where an insufficient contribution was most frequent (79.2 percent of the subjects have an intake less than the 6 percent of the energy). The contribution of omega 3 fatty acids (1.85 plus   0.82 g per day) is particularly low, and provides less than 1 percent of the energy in 85.3 percent of subjects. Specifically the ALA (1.40 plus   10.55 g per day) did not exceed the 0.5 percent of energy in 53.7 percent of the cases, and the EPA plus DHA (0.55 plus   0.58 g per day) did not exceed 0.5 g per day in 64.6 percent. On the other hand, the contribution of omega 6 was more appropriate (10.95 plus   3.79 g per day), specifically for LA intake (10.77 plus   3.76 g per day), representing less than 3 percent of the energy in the 25.5 percent of subjects. The main food sources for omega 3 were fish, followed by meat, dairy and fats and oils, whereas for omega 6 were fats per oils, meat and cereals. Taking into account that the low consumption of omega 3 fatty acids is noteworthy in the studied group, especially for EPA plus DHA, the influence of the fish consumption is important, since people who consume less than 0.5 servings per day (29.8 percent) have intakes of omega 3 (1.46 plus   0.57 g per day) and EPA plus DHA (0.19 plus   0.19 g per day) significantly lower than individuals with a higher consumption of fish (which have intakes of omega 3 and EPA plus DHA of 2.02 plus   0.85 g per day and 0.70 plus   0.61 g per day, respectively). The increase in fish consumption facilitates meeting the nutritional goals set for omega 3 (greater than 1 percent of energy) and for EPA plus DHA (greater 0.5 g per day). Due to the high percentage of individuals who do not meet the nutritional goals set for omega 3, ALA, EPA and DHA, it would be advisable to increase the consumption of fish and per or foods enriched with these fatty acids in order to obtain nutritional and health benefits. (Authors abstract. Article in Spanish)