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We all need small amounts of fat in our diet, to provide certain vitamins and to make foods more pleasant to eat.

	Male	Female
Total fat	95g/day	70g/day
Saturated fat	30g/day	20g/day

In general, we all eat too much fat in our diet. Keeping the fat in our diet low is the best way to aid weight loss.

Eating too much fat in the diet can result in two main medical problems:

• Fats are high in calories, eating a lot can lead to becoming over weight
• Too much saturated fat in the diet is linked with a high risk of heart disease

F is for FREQUENCY - Look at how often you eat fatty foods and snacks, try to reduce or find a low-fat alternative.

A is for AMOUNT - Try to reduce the portion sizes of fatty foods and snacks.

T is for TYPE - Could you choose a better type of fat? Try to avoid "Saturated Fats". For example, swap butter or margarine for sunflower or olive oil-based margarine.

Making small changes in the diet can make a big difference:

Pork chop - with fat, grilled	24g of fat
Pork chop - lean, grilled	13g of fat
2 sausages - grilled	21g of fat
2 low-fat sausages - grilled	12g of fat
1 pint full-fat milk	23g of fat
1 pint semi-skimmed milk	9g of fat

Tips to help cut down on fats:

• Choose lean cuts of meat or trim off the fat
• Try semi-skimmed or skimmed milk instead of whole milk
• Spread fats thinly
• Try to cut down on and in between meals snacks, e.g. biscuits, crisps, cakes and chocolate
• Try to have an unbuttered currant bun, scone or malt loaf instead of biscuits or cake
• Choose baked or mashed potatoes or rice or pasta instead of chips or roast potatoes
• Make more sauces with cornflour instead of butter and flour
• Try using low-fat yoghurt or low-fat fromage frais instead of cream