title: Validity of the fatty acid composition of subcutaneous fat tissue microbiopsies as an estimate of the long-term average fatty acid composition of the diet of separate individuals.
abstract: The relationship between the fatty acid composition of subcutaneous adipose tissue and diet was estimated in 59 Dutch women aged 32-35 years. Food consumption was estimated by taking the means of nineteen 24-hour recalls administered over a period of two and a half years, August 1981-December 1983. Highly significant correlations were found between linoleic acid content of fat tissue and diet (r = 0.70) and also between the linoleic acid-to-saturated fatty acid (linoleic/S) ratio of fat tissue and diet (r = 0.62). This confirms the hypothesis that on an individual level the fatty acid composition of the adipose tissue is a valid index for the habitual dietary fatty acid composition of free-living adults. When using one 24-hour recall instead of the average of 19 recalls, the correlation coefficient between the linoleic/S ratio of the diet and that of the adipose tissue was substantially decreased. This demonstrates the weakening effect of the large day-to-day variation in within-person intake on the correlation between a short-term assessment of the nutrient intake of an individual and a biochemical indicator of long-term nutritional status.
mesh_terms: D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000032:analysis*; D000328:Adult; D000886:Anthropometry; D001706:Biopsy; D004032:Diet; D004034:Diet Surveys; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000032:analysis*; D005231:Fatty Acids, Unsaturated / Q000032:analysis; D005260:Female; D005502:Food; D006801:Humans; D019787:Linoleic Acid; D008041:Linoleic Acids / Q000032:analysis; D011939:Mental Recall; D009426:Netherlands; D005082:Physical Exertion; D012044:Regression Analysis
chemical_list: D005227:Fatty Acids; D005231:Fatty Acids, Unsaturated; D008041:Linoleic Acids; D019787:Linoleic Acid