That depends on how old you are. Up until about the age of two, children require from 40 to 50 percent of their daily calories from fat. From two to teens, children require about 30 percent of their calories from fat. Moderately active adults require about 25 percent of their calories from fat. Most of the fats consumed should be unsaturated. If you want to keep track of the fats your kids are eating, keep a food log. Write down everything your child is eating and drinking for one whole day. Then check the labels for foods that have them and write down the number of calories and the number of grams of unsaturated, saturated, and trans fats. Add up the numbers (there are 4 calories per gram of proteins and carbohydrates and 9 calories per gram of fat). You may have to approximate calories and fat grams for unlabeled foods, but you can find many of these numbers on the Internet. You don’t have to be exact; you only want to get a general idea. Calculate the percentage of fat calories versus the number of total calories for the day. For instance, if your teen is eating 2000 calories per day, approximately 600 of those calories (30 percent) should be coming from fats.
Also, add up the number of grams of each type of fat: unsaturated, saturated, and trans. If there are more saturated and trans fats than unsaturated fats, you may want to make some changes in your child’s diet. The next time you go shop, be sure to read food labels. If the ingredient list of a particular food includes hydrogenated or partially-hydrogenated oil, it means the product is high in trans fats. Choose foods that are lower in saturated and trans fats, including lean meats, fish, and fresh fruits and vegetables.
Fats are a hot political topic these days as governments around the country are banning trans fats and requiring restaurants to post calories and ingredients. This is a good thing, as it helps us all be more aware of what we’re actually eating. Teach your kids how to read these postings, and how to read food labels as well. You’re never too young to build a healthy foundation for the rest of your life.
Fats Take Home Points
- Children need fat for their growth and development. But it’s important that the fat, as much as possible, should come from “healthy” sources such as avocados and omega-3 fish oils.
- It’s not fat in general that’s causing us problems, it’s that most of us are ingesting too much of the wrong kinds of fat and too little of the right kinds. The best thing we can do for ourselves and our kids is to learn to tell the difference.
- “Good” fats are those that are least saturated: omega-3s, omega-6s, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated. The worst fats are the most saturated: hydrogenated, partially-hydrogenated, and trans fats.
- The superstar fats are omega-3, omega-6, and DHA. Some of the best food sources of omega-3s are fatty fish, including mackerel, salmon, trout, tuna, herring, striped bass, sardines, and anchovies.
- In the human infant, brain development undergoes its most rapid and complex growth during the last trimester of pregnancy and the first two years after birth. Higher DHA in babies’ diets translates into better brain function, especially for cognitive and visual function.
- If you want to achieve a healthy balance of omegas for you and your family, minimize the use of oils rich in omega-6 fatty acids, which may mean reducing your (and your children’s) consumption of margarine, salad dressings, mayonnaise, and most fast and processed foods. At the same time, increase your consumption of omega-3 rich foods like cold-water fatty fish.
- You can avoid trans fats by staying away from fast foods and by reading the labels of packaged goods. Anything that contains hydrogenated oil or partially hydrogenated oil contains trans fats.
- Sufficient fat must be included in the diet for children to support normal growth and development; therefore giving them low-fat and sugar-free products is a bad idea.
