Fat for growth

CHILDREN burn more body fat day-to-day than adults do, underscoring their need for a little extra fat in their diets, according to researchers.

Though many adults try to limit their fat intake for the sake of their hearts and waistlines, experts recommend that parents allow more leeway in their children’s diets. Adults are advised to get anywhere from 20% to 35% of their daily calories from fat, while the recommendation for teenagers and children older than three is 25% to 35%. Babies and toddlers need even more fat – 30% to 40% of daily calories. The reason for the extra fat allowance is that fast-growing bodies need adequate calories and nutrients of all kinds for proper development.

The new study, published online by Nutrition Journal, supports these recommendations.
Researchers led by John C. Kostyak of the University of Delaware, United States, had 10 adults and 10 children follow a weight-maintenance diet for three days, and then measured each participant’s metabolic rate during sedentary daily activities like reading and watching TV.
The researchers found that for every calorie expended, the children, who were eight years old on average, burned more body fat than adults did.

According to Kostyak, prepubescent children may use up more fat than adults do by virtue of “normal growth processes,” like bone development and the relatively higher rate of protein synthesis seen in children. – Reuters