Increase in Adipose Tissue Linoleic Acid of US Adults in the Last Half Century

Summary

Quantitative review pooling adipose tissue fatty acid composition data from US-based studies across five decades. The authors document a near-linear rise in adipose linoleic acid (LA) from approximately 9.1% of total fatty acids in 1959 to 21.5% by 2008 — a 136% relative increase. The rise correlates strongly with dietary LA intake estimates over the same period (R² = 0.81). The paper also estimates an adipose LA incorporation half-life of approximately 680 days, meaning dietary changes take about two years of consistent intake to fully manifest in tissue composition. The data establishes that dietary LA is a major determinant of long-term tissue LA, and that tissue LA changes slowly enough that short-term dietary interventions show muted adipose effects.