32 2.31 How Does Fat Differ From Lipids?

The answer you receive from this question will depend on who you ask, so it is important to have an understanding of lipids and fats from a chemical and nutritional perspective.

To a chemist, lipids consist of:

Triglycerides

Fatty Acids

Phospholipids

Sterols

These compounds are grouped together because of their structural and physical property similarities. For instance, all lipids have hydrophobic (water-fearing) properties. Chemists further separate lipids into fats and oils based on their physical properties at room temperature:

Fats are solid at room temperature

Oils are liquid at room temperature

From a nutritional perspective, the definition of lipids is the same. The definition of a fat differs, however, because nutrition-oriented people define fats based on their caloric contribution rather than whether they are solid at room temperature. Thus, from a nutrition perspective:

Fats are triglycerides, fatty acids, and phospholipids that provide 9 kcal/g.

The other difference is that from a caloric perspective, an oil is a fat. For example, let’s consider olive oil. Clearly, it is an oil according to a chemist definition, but from a caloric standpoint it is a fat because it provides 9 kcal/g.

The following sections will discuss the different lipid classes introduced above in detail.

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