Introduction and aims: 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.
Methods: 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, α-linolenic acid (ALA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), omega-6 fatty acids, linoleic acid (LA) and arachidonic acid, expressed in g/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.
Results and discussion: 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% of the subjects have an intake less than the 6% of the energy). The contribution of omega-3 fatty acids (1.85±0.82 g/day) is particularly low, and provides less than 1% of the energy in 85.3% of subjects. Specifically the ALA (1.40±0.55 g/day) did not exceed the 0.5% of energy in 53.7% of the cases, and the EPA + DHA (0.55±0.58 g/day) did not exceed 0.5 g/day in 64.6%. On the other hand, the contribution of omega-6 was more appropriate (10.95±3.79 g/day), specifically for LA intake (10.77±3.76 g/day), representing less than 3% of the energy in the 25.5 % of subjects. The main food sources for omega-3 were fish, followed by meat, dairy and fats/oils, whereas for omega-6 were fats/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 + DHA, the influence of the fish consumption is important, since people who consume less than 0.5 servings/day (29.8%) have intakes of omega-3 (1.46±0.57 g/day) and EPA + DHA (0.19±0.19 g/day) significantly lower than individuals with a higher consumption of fish (which have intakes of omega-3 and EPA + DHA of 2.02±0.85 g/day and 0.70±0.61 g/day, respectively) (p < 0.001). The increase in fish consumption facilitates meeting the nutritional goals set for omega-3 (≥ 1% of energy) (OR 0.371, 95% CI 0.306-0.451, p < 0.001) and for EPA + DHA (> 0.5 g/day) (OR 0.121, 95% CI 0.092-0.158, p < 0.001).
Conclusions: 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/or foods enriched with these fatty acids in order to obtain nutritional and health benefits.
Introducción y Objetivos: Teniendo en cuenta la importancia sanitaria del aporte de ácidos grasos omega 3 y omega 6 y ante la escasez de estudios sobre el tema en colectivos españoles se plantea la conveniencia de conocer la ingesta de estos ácidos grasos, su adecuación a los objetivos nutricionales marcados y sus fuentes alimentarias en una muestra representativa de la población española. Métodos: Se ha estudiado un colectivo de 1068 adultos (521 varones y 547 mujeres) de 17 a 60 años, seleccionados en diez provincias españolas, que constituyen una muestra representativa de la población, a nivel nacional. Se determino la ingesta de ácidos grasos poliinsaturados (AGP), ácidos grasos omega-3, α-linolénico (ALA), ácido eicosapentaenoico (EPA), docosahexaenoico (DHA), ácidos grasos omega-6, ácido linoléico (LA) y araquidónico, en g/día y en porcentaje de la energía, utilizando un “Registro del consumo de alimentos” durante 3 días consecutivos, incluyendo un domingo, recogiendo también datos personales, sanitarios y antropométricos de los individuos estudiados. Resultados y Discusión: Mientras que la ingesta de grasa total y grasa saturada fue superior a la marcada como aconsejable en el 89.2% y 93.3% de los individuos, respectivamente, sin embargo con la ingesta de AGP sucede lo contrario, siendo más frecuente el aporte insuficiente (79.2% de los estudiados tienen ingesta menor del 6% de la energía). Resulta especialmente bajo el aporte de ácidos grasos omega-3 (1.850.82 g/día), que proporcionan menos del 1% de la energía en el 85.3% de los individuos, en concreto el ALA (1.400.55 g/día) no supera el 0.5% de la energía en el 53.7% de los casos y el EPA+DHA (0.550.58 g/día) no superan los 0.5 g/día en el 64.6%. Por otra parte, el aporte de ácidos grasos omega-6 fue más adecuado (10,953.79 g/día) y en concreto el de LA (10.773.76 g/día) supuso menos del 3% de la energía en el 25.5% de los estudiados. Las principales fuentes alimentarias de ácidos grasos omega-3 fueron los pescados, seguidos de carnes, lácteos y grasas/aceites, mientras que para los omega-6 fueron las grasas/aceites, carnes y cereales. Teniendo en cuenta que, en el colectivo estudiado, destaca el bajo consumo de ácidos grasos omega-3 y especialmente de EPA+DHA, en este sentido es importante la influencia del consumo de pescado, pues las personas que toman menos de 0.5 raciones/día (29.8%) tienen ingestas de omega-3 (1.460.57 g/día) y de EPA+DHA (0.190.19 g/día) significativamente inferiores a las de individuos con mayor consumo de pescado (que presentan ingestas de omega-3 y de EPA+DHA de 2.020.85 g/día y de 0.700.61 g/día, respectivamente) (p.
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