WITH babies vying with each other inbornny baby contests the world over,baby fat has never been a serious issuewith mothers and paediatricians. Achubby baby is considered a healthybaby by all. Some Finnish researchers,however, decided to have a fresh look atthe dietary requirements of babies, particularly the fat content in their diet andits implications. The study concludesthat, contrary to conventional belief, itmay not be all that good to feed babieswith fat-rich food (Archives of Paediatrics&Adolescent Medicine, Vol 15 1, No 2).
While there are guidelines issued byvarious bodies like the American HeartAssociation (AHA) about the composition of diets for adults and children(including babies), hardly any such specific recommendations exist in thedeveloping countries. This is especiallytrue of urban populations in developingcountries like China, where obesity inchildren is fast emerging as a seriousproblem. In India, medical bodies likethe Indian Council of Medical Researchhave made recommendations pertaining to the dietary needs of children.However, a significant number of people are either not aware or just notconcerned.
The AHA recommends thatchildren over two,years shouldrestrict their daily fat intake toroughly 30 per cent of the caloriesconsumed, as it would otherwisebecome a risk factor for heart disease in later years. But the AHA alsosays that reducing the level of fatin the diet to less than 30 per centcould be dangerous. The presenceof fatty acids in the diet have animportant role to play in thedevelopment of the brain, whichgrows at a rapid rate during thefirst two years. The brain of a two-year-old reaches 80 per cent of thevolume it will attain by adulthood,half of which comprises fat. Largeamounts of fat are thus needed forthe overall physical and mentaldevelopment of growing children.
A team of researchers led by HannaLagstrom of the University of Turku inFinland followed two groups of childrenbetween the age of eight months and fouryears. The first group had 540 childrenwhose parents agreed to regulate the levelof fat and cholesterol in the children'sdiet, while 522 in the second group weregiven a normal diet with 30 per cent fat.The objective was to study the impact of a slight reduction of saturated fat, a variety that is linked to heart disease.
The scientists replaced saturated fatwith monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats (like vegetable oil or margarine) to provide the babies with adequate levels of fat for brain developmentand overall growth. They studied theeffects of a diet low in saturated fat andcholesterol on infants as young as 13months. The researchers took a boldstep: they advised parents to feedskimmed milk or tinned formula foodas soon as the babies were weaned.This was a radical departure from therecommendation of paediatricians thatbabies under two years be given whole-some milk.
According to their analysis, theamount of fat normally consumed bybabies after weaning in Western societyis far less than the amount presumed bynutritionists for analysis, suggesting thatbabies might not need as much as 30 percent fat in their diets.
Significantly, the two-year-oldsexamined in the trial did not show anyill effects despite being on a diet withonly about 11 per cent of their caloriesfrom saturated fat, as compared to 14per cent in the control group. They evaluated the children's neurological andpsychological development extensivelyat the age of five years. Preliminaryanalysis has shown no significant difference between babies given less fat andthose who had the full quota of fat intheir diet. The study suggests that thepresent guidelines on the diet of babiesare outmoded.
This is considered the first long-term prospective study to examine thesafety of a restricted diet in infantsunder two years and has placed nutritionists and paediatricians in a dilemma. Their response to the study has been cautious.
Some nutritionists, however, admitthat the study is promising and can playan important role in providing healthydiet recommendations to younger children. Edward Fisher, director of cardiovascular research at Mount Sinai Schoolof Medicine, New York, was part of thegroup that made these recommendations earlier. Fisher says that it has longbeen assumed that breast-fed and hottle-fed babies take in much more than30 per cent fat in their diet even afterthey start consuming other foods, asboth breast and formula milk containhigh quantities of fat. But the Finnishstudy points out that the average eight-month-old baby gets only about 29 percent of its calories from fat.
Several researchers in the US are,however, seeking more clinical data onthe effects of reduced fat intake.According to them, a blanket recommendation can pose new problems. Inthe absence of expert advice to parents,young children may actually get farlower quantities of fat than the essentialrequirement. There are instances ofchildren reporting signs of malnutritionwhen kept off fat-rich diets by over-cautious parents. In addition, most kids are quite fussy in eating. Wholesome milk,they argue, is the surest way of ensuringthe intake of the required fat content.