Reducing Dietary Fat for Preschoolers

Up to the time your child is 2 to 3 years old, you should have made no effort to reduce the amount of fat in her diet. That’s because the brain in particular relies on dietary fat for proper growth and development in these earliest years of life. Now that she’s a preschooler, you can start to gradually reduce the levels of fat that your child consumes. By serving her lower fat meals, you’ll help keep her weight under control and lower her risk of heart disease and other chronic illnesses later in life.

Between the ages of 4 and 5 years, you should reach a level where your child is getting fewer calories from fat (rather than the 50% she had been consuming up to 2 years). Once she reaches this lower target of fat intake, it will coincide with the recommendations made for most adults and older children, so your entire family can now be eating the same diet. At this time, most of your family’s calories (about 55% to 60%) should come from carbohydrates, with more modest amounts of fat and protein.

What kind of fat-reducing changes should you be making?

• Switch your preschooler from whole milk to skim or 2% milk (which the rest of the family may already be consuming). She should be drinking 2 cups a day of fat-free or low-fat milk (or equivalent milk products).
• Select grilled or broiled fish or lean meats.
• Serve cheese only in modest portions.
• Give your child whole fruit to meet her recommended fruit intake, limiting fruit juice consumption to no more that 4 to 6 oz per day (from ages 1 to 6 years). Remember, this is 100% juice, not juice drinks.
• For snacks, rely on low-fat choices like pretzels, fresh fruit, air-popped popcorn, or fat-free yogurt.
• When preparing food, use cooking methods like steaming, broiling, and roasting that don’t require fat during cooking, or use only a small amount of olive oil or nonstick spray.