Back to the topic, people try to apply adult concepts to children, and
it is essential that children get an adequate supply of healthy oils.
A great example is an avocado as having great oils. Olive oil is great
for children. BTW, no one needs any trans fat, it was CREATED recently
by the food industry and serves no purpose.


Low-fat diets can cut children's nutrient intake
By Suzanne Rostler

http://www.4woman.org/nwhic/News/2001/01Nov16-2.htm

NEW YORK, Nov 15 (Reuters Health) - Well-intentioned parents who
limit their child's dietary fat in the name of good health may be
depriving their growing son or daughter of essential nutrients,
researchers report.

Their study of children with and without high cholesterol found that
unsupervised, parent-imposed low-fat diets were also lower in zinc
and vitamin E compared with diets that did not restrict fat. Zinc is
a mineral that is essential for growth and development and helps the
immune system fight infectious diseases. Vitamin E, an important
antioxidant vitamin, may also protect against certain diseases.

"Without formal nutritional counseling, parents of children with
(high cholesterol) may inadvertently overrestrict calories in their
children's diet by attempting to eliminate obvious sources of dietary
fat," Dr. Abha Kaistha from Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center in
New York City and colleagues write.

In an interview with Reuters Health, Dr. Sarah C. Couch, a co-author
on the study, said that previous research has demonstrated that
low-fat diets can be safe for children. However, "there are clinical
reports of children who have grown poorly while following
unsupervised low-fat, low-calorie diets," added Couch, who is from
the University of Cincinnati in Ohio.

Many foods that contain zinc and vitamin E are also rich in fat and
saturated fat, including oils, milk, meat and eggs, the researchers
explain in the November issue of the Archives of Pediatric and
Adolescent Medicine.

The investigators compared the 3-day food diaries of 34 children with
normal cholesterol and 46 with high cholesterol. Before consulting a
nutritionist, parents of the children with high cholesterol had
reduced their fat intake to about 23% of daily calories and limited
their intake of saturated fat to about 8% of calories a day. In
comparison, the children with normal cholesterol consumed 17% more
calories overall, of which about 35% came from fat and 13% from
saturated fat.

Children with high cholesterol also consumed significantly more sugar
as a result of higher intakes of carbohydrate-rich foods, which tend
to be lower in fat. In both groups of children, whose average age was
10, intakes of calcium and folate were below national guidelines.

Kaistha and colleagues conclude that parents should not impose
dietary restrictions on children, including those with high
cholesterol, without the help of a trained professional.

"Parents of children with newly diagnosed (high cholesterol) should
be strongly encouraged to seek immediate guidance from a registered
dietitian after receiving the diagnosis," the researchers suggest.

Similarly, they warn pediatricians that a diagnosis of high
cholesterol and a recommendation to parents to begin cutting back on
fat in their child's diet could result in nutrient deficiencies.

SOURCE: Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine
2001;155:1225-1230.