Kid Eating Bread Butter Image

How do you feel about fat in your meals?

How do you feel about fat in your child’s meals?

Do you worry about eating fat?

You don’t have to be afraid of fat. You need it for nutrition and calories. Children need it for brain development. If you have heart disease in your family, get help with a special diet. Don’t just try to cut out fat. It doesn’t work and it isn’t good for you.

Two boys having pizza

You and your child need fat. Sometimes you need more fat than at other times.

  • Fat makes food taste better and makes meals stay with you longer.
  • Too little fat takes away the good taste of food and makes you hungry right after you eat. Children who don’t get enough fat don’t have enough energy to grow well and be active.
  • Fat helps when you are running low on food. It fills you up and keeps you from being hungry right away.
  • > Fat gives calories for energy when you and your child are hungry or more active.
Boy Eating Image

Plan meals that help you get filled up.

Include some food that is low or moderate in fat:

  • Yeast bread and fruit have almost no fat.
  • Buttered vegetables are moderate in fat.
  • Unbreaded meat, chicken, or fish cooked in butter or oil, baked or broiled are moderate in fat.

Include some food that is high in fat:

  • Fried potatoes, potato chips, tortilla chips.
  • Chicken nuggets, breaded fried chicken, batter-fried fish.
  • Butter or margarine.
  • Salad dressing, gravy, white sauce, cheese sauce.
  • Whole milk.

Eat what you are hungry for. Let your child do the same.

  • On hungry days, higher-fat foods will taste better and you will eat them.
  • On not-so-hungry days, lower-fat food will taste better and you will eat them.

Use different kinds of fat.

  • Use different kinds of vegetable oil, margarine, butter, or lard.