Not only for adults, fat intake for children must also be limited so as not to overdo it and trigger serious illness later on. Yes. A healthy diet for heart health must begin at an early age. The task of parents is to limit the amount of total fat, saturated fat, trans fat, and cholesterol which is not recommended for consumption by children under the age of 2 years.
The following is complete information about the daily fat requirements for children, including safe limits and where the best and healthiest fat suber is for children.
Children still need fatty foods to ensure their growth remains optimal
Fatty foods are not always bad for health. Proper fat intake can help provide energy and calories for the child's body during activities. The right source of fat, such as omega-3 fatty acids, can also help maintain heart health. Foods high in unsaturated fats can help reduce the risk of heart disease and cancer while maintaining insulin sensitivity maintained.
Meanwhile, foods high in saturated fat and trans fat are actually dangerous. As much as possible keep these two types of bad fat from the child's dinner plate. Examples are all fried foods, ready-to-eat food, packaged foods, and meat fat (gajih). Excessive intake of bad fats can increase the risk of children experiencing heart disease and other chronic diseases in the future.
So, make sure you only provide food sources enriched with good types of fat for children. Also make sure that these foods are low in cholesterol.
Here is a list of low fat and low cholesterol healthy foods, which can meet the fat requirements of children at 2 years of age:
- Lean poultry meat (chicken or duck meat)
- Fish meat
- Red meat without fat (burned or baked; not fried)
- Margarine (not butter, huh)
- Low-fat dairy products
- Vegetable oil
Don't forget to limit egg consumption per day. Simply just one egg every day , because two already meet the child's cholesterol needs in one day.
How much fat needs for children?
Fat requirements for children every day are different for each child, depending on the calorie requirements. For example, teens must get 25% to 35% of their daily calories from fatty foods. Well, the percentage of calories from fat that your child or teen must eat is also dependent on age.
Example: for children aged 2-3 years according to the Nutrition Adequacy Rate (RDA) requires 44 grams of fat from 1125 calories per day. Meanwhile, children aged 4-7 years need 62 grams of fat from a total of 1600 calories in one day. Finally, children aged 7-9 years need 72 grams of fat from 1850 calories needed per day.
Fat requirements for children should not exceed 30% of the total calories. This limit also includes a third of calories from saturated fat and the rest from polyunsaturated or monounsaturated fats. Unsaturated fats are liquid at room temperature and are commonly found in vegetable oils such as corn, safflower, sunflower, soybeans, and olives.
Some parents mistakenly distinguish various types of fat. In general, oils and fats derived from animals are saturated fats. Start a healthy heart diet by reducing the amount of various fatty foods in the family menu.
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