Not all fat is bad

An interesting read, especially for new or expecting mothers.
This paper describes a negative correlation of fat intake in children at 10 months and two years of age with body weight, body fat, and serum leptin at age 20. The practice of giving children a low fat diet, particularly those under the age of two, is postulated by the authors to produce epigenetic changes leading to greater degrees of adiposity in adulthood. Many governmental dietary guidelines recommend full fat milk under age two, but this is ignored by up to two-thirds of parents. Education of parents is needed to alter this pattern. In addition, these data raise the troubling question of whether current recommendations for consumption of low fat milk and other low fat foods after age two also might need additional research to determine if this association with adult overweight/obesity persists after age two.

http://www.nature.com/ijo/journal/v37/n8/full/ijo2012185a.html

Replies

  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
    all things bacon... are delicious.

    I hate that people think fat is bad- it's amazing.
  • ngyoung
    ngyoung Posts: 311 Member
    Fat is vital for a growing child, especially for brain development.
  • born2drum
    born2drum Posts: 731 Member
    Brain thrives and floats around fat. Need I say more?
  • Usually when fat is taken out, sugar is added.

    Its a lose/lose in most cases.

    Just eat right...... and in moderation regardless of age.
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
    all things bacon... are delicious.

    I hate that people think fat is bad- it's amazing.

    This
  • FattieBabs
    FattieBabs Posts: 542 Member
    Did somebody mention BACON! yum yum!
  • palmerar
    palmerar Posts: 489 Member
    In my humble opinion, not backed by science or livestrong or wikipedia but rather something I learned from a chef that worked at a restaurant where I used to waitress is fat = flavor. To me this means that when you take fat out of a food prodct you sacrifice some of the natural flavor, you have to add flavor back into the food so the product tastes good, this usually happens via artificial flavors.
  • AnninStPaul
    AnninStPaul Posts: 1,372 Member
    Toddlers should get full fat for brain and body development. And I know some older kids who drink full fat milk etc simply because they don't get enough calories otherwise (particularly those on ADD medications, which often suppress appetite).
  • AngelsFan91106
    AngelsFan91106 Posts: 111 Member
    fat = flavor.

    This.
  • mud7urtle
    mud7urtle Posts: 500
    Fat is vital period.
  • bethannien
    bethannien Posts: 556 Member
    My daughter is lactose intolerant and I'm always worried she isn't getting enough fat! When I see threads on here, talking about 7 year olds who are "chubby" (usually still in a healthy weight range) it makes me sad. Children should be taught healthy eating habits but we have to be careful not to give them the body complexes we have.

    Fat isn't the enemy. Excess is
  • MercenaryNoetic26
    MercenaryNoetic26 Posts: 2,747 Member
    :heart: my fats.
  • shannashannabobana
    shannashannabobana Posts: 625 Member
    Fat is vital for a growing child, especially for brain development.
    Indeed. People have been so convinced that fat is evil they keep from children who really really need it.
    To me this means that when you take fat out of a food prodct you sacrifice some of the natural flavor, you have to add flavor back into the food so the product tastes good, this usually happens via artificial flavors.
    Which is why the low fat crazy resulted in a million 'fat free' products loaded with sugar.
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
    some crazy girl on here told me last week that "veggies cooked in bacon grease sounded disgusting"

    I wanted to facepalm HER through the screen.

    I was like- woman you weigh almost 300 lbs (she did) and I have never been fat.... you have been living a LIE all your life that fat is bad- and look at how far it got you. I've been eating bacon and real butter my whole life.... seriously FAT IS NOT BAD. overeating is. I felt bad for her that she'd been living a lie and eating crappy foods her whole life.

    IT'S DELICIOUS. Too much of it- like ANY OTHER PRODUCT- is bad. But fat itself is not bad- nor good- it's just delicious.
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  • Butter. Definitely butter. And heavy cream. Cookies and cupcakes and buttercream frosting.

    I've learned to bake in the last year, and I knew my weight hadn't gone up, but I was worried that all the butter and cream would make my cholesterol go up. Nope. It was down. Significantly.

    I drink all skim milk, though. My dad switched to drinking skim when I was 5, and now anything else feels too thick. So I drink skim milk, and cook with heavy cream and butter.
  • Morn66
    Morn66 Posts: 96
    I guess I'm odd in that I've never liked bacon, especially if it's chewy. Chewing on fat makes me gag. It's a texture thing. If it was cooked to within an inch of bursting into flame, it was merely OK to me. Tolerable. Sort of. But hey, that means more for y'all, right? :)

    However, I do like fat. Specifically, I like mayonnaise, even the vegan version I eat now. Like, I could eat the stuff right out of the jar, and I could eat the whole jar in one sitting, probably. And I like various oils used to make my sauteed veggies and stuff taste all sorts of awesome. I don't get the "fat fear." Well, OK, I do; too many people listen to the wrong "authorities." But still... Fat IS amazing. My gall bladder doesn't like me when I eat too much of it, but such are the sacrifices we make.
  • WildlyCurly
    WildlyCurly Posts: 151 Member
    It definitely makes food tasty, that's for sure. Butter, cheese, and cream make healthy food eatable, at least to me anyways. I don't think I could eat all my vegetables without adding a little fat like some butter or cheese. If a little bit of fat can help you eat more vegetables, then it's not bad at all.