saturated fat

American  

noun

Nutrition.

1. a type of single-bond animal or vegetable fat, as that found in butter, meat, egg yolks, and coconut or palm oil, that in humans tends to increase cholesterol levels in the blood.

---

saturated fat Scientific  

1. A fat with a triglyceride molecule containing three saturated fatty acids. All carbon atoms in the fatty acid chains of saturated fats are connected by single bonds. Most fats derived from animal sources are saturated fats. Eating foods high in saturated fats can lead to elevated cholesterol levels in the blood.

2. Compare unsaturated fat

---

Etymology

Origin of saturated fat

First recorded in 1970–75

Example Sentences

Most ultraprocessed foods would be considered junk food and are high in added sugars, saturated fat and sodium.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 17, 2026

However, some observational studies found that people taking the drugs often consumed high levels of total and saturated fat.

From Science Daily • Feb. 4, 2026

It’s arguably the strongest nutritional finding that I know of as an epidemiologist who enjoys looking into these things: Eating saturated fat increases bad cholesterol.

From Slate • Jan. 28, 2026

Plus, not all animal-based proteins are the same: Eating 100 grams of salmon has about 3 grams of saturated fat, while the same serving of a ribeye steak has about 10 grams.

From MarketWatch • Jan. 10, 2026

Further, to assure the chicken is as low in saturated fat as possible, Perdue uses only polyunsaturated soybean oil.

From The Perdue Chicken Cookbook by Perdue, Mitzi