IS THERE A RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN DIETARY-FAT AND STATURE OR GROWTH IN CHILDREN 3 TO 5 YEARS OF AGE

Study objective. To determine whether a moderately reduced fat diet af fects the stature or growth of healthy preschool children. Design. Coh ort study with mean of 25 months of follow-up. Setting. Primary care p ediatrics practice at a large urban medical center. Subjects. A predom inately Hispanic group of 215 children aged 3 to 4 years at baseline. Measurements and main results. The children's diet was assessed using four 24-hour recalls and three Willett semiquantitative food-frequency questionnaires administered to the children's mothers over a 1-year b aseline period. Stature was defined in terms of height, weight, and bo dy mass index at baseline. Growth was defined in terms of change durin g follow-up in height, weight, and body mass index. Total fat provided a mean of 27.1% of caloric intake in the lowest quintile of intake co mpared with 38.4% in the highest quintile. There were no differences i n stature or growth across quintiles of children defined by consumptio n of total fat, saturated fat, or cholesterol. These findings were con sistent across the two methods of diet assessment. Children who consum ed a smaller percentage of total calories from fat consumed significan tly less total calories, saturated fat, cholesterol, calcium, and phos phorus, as well as more carbohydrates, iron, thiamine, niacin, vitamin A, and vitamin C. Conclusions. These data support the safety of a mod erately reduced fat diet in healthy preschool children. Maintenance of calcium and phosphorus intake should be part of any program of dietar y fat reduction. Substitution of low-fat milk for whole milk, rather t han elimination of whole milk, is one such strategy.