ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, February 24, 1997 TAG: 9702240106
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-12 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: CHICAGO
SOURCE: Associated Press
SKIM MILK AT AGE 2? Researchers are flying in the face of conventional wisdom on children's nutrition.
It's almost never too early to cut fat out of your diet, according to Finnish researchers who say fat intake can safely be reduced in children under 2 years old.
U.S. guidelines recommend against limiting children's fat intake until age 2, when parents are urged to keep fat consumption under 30 percent of daily calories. Doctors traditionally have believed that very young children need fat for proper development.
But the study of 1,062 Finnish youngsters aged 8 months through 4 years found they fared well even when their fat intake was cut back shortly after the child's first birthday.
The study in February's Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine follows research indicating that diet-linked damage to coronary arteries probably begins in early childhood, leading to heart disease later in life.
It suggests that efforts to prevent adult heart disease could begin as soon as children are weaned.
``Obviously, the current recommendations grossly overestimate the needs of fat intake'' in the first two years of life, wrote the researchers, led by Hanna Lagstrom at Finland's University of Turku.
Dr. Jan Berger of the Northwestern Medical Faculty Foundation in Chicago said she is not convinced by the study, and contends that limiting fat intake in such young children could harm their neurological development.
The authors found that except for vitamin D and iron, vitamin and mineral intakes were adequate among children with reduced-fat diets. They urged vitamin D and iron supplements for the study group until age 2.
Researchers advised mothers to breast-feed as long as possible or to use formula until age 1. Then, roughly half were counseled to limit their children's fat intake to 30 percent to 35 percent of total calories up to age 3, reduced to 30 percent thereafter.
By ages 2 and 3, the children consumed close to 10 percent less fat with no adverse effects.
The authors noted that at age 8 months, even before the children's diets were changed, the fat intake for all the children was just 29 percent, much lower than expected and suggesting very young children in Western countries already consume less fat than previously thought.
LENGTH: Medium: 52 linesby CNB