More Fat in Diet Needed For Optimum Growth Say Experts

Though reports on childhood obesity dominate the news, a recent study holds that "good fat" is still necessary for kids to grow.

The study reported that parents should not restrict their children to low-fat foods, and that fat can be and should be included as part of a healthy diet.

The study, published in August in Nutrition Journal, says prepubescent children may oxidize fatty acids more readily than adults and therefore, dietary fat needs would be higher for children compared with adults.

Additionally, children were found to burn more fat relative to the amount of energy they used, said researchers. And interestingly, girls were found to use fat at a higher rate than boys of a similar age.

The bottom line, said researchers, is, if any wording on the package says "diet," then it should NOT be in the daily diet of a child, because they have completely different nutritional needs for optimum growth.