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| |    The Role of Fat in a Baby's Diet by Mary Silva, M.S., R.D. reviewed by Robert Needlman, M.D., F.A.A.P. Although eating too much fat is a valid concern for adults, it's not a problem for infants. In fact, babies require a certain amount of fat for normal development of their rapidly growing bodies, and the nutrient plays an especially important role in brain development. Fine sources of fat Breast milk and formula are rich in dietary fat, including essential fatty acids and cholesterol. However, once your infant starts eating solid foods and consequently drinks less breast milk or formula, you'll need to see that he gets the fat he needs from other foods. For babies between 6 and 12 months, this includes meats, egg yolks, cheese, and baked goods. As long as your baby's diet contains a variety of foods--appropriate for his age and stage of development--he will generally get an adequate amount of fat. Different food label rules If you tend to read food labels as part of watching your diet, you may be surprised to find that baby-food labels do not contain nutritional information regarding fat. That's because a law was established that prohibits baby-food manufacturers from listing the cholesterol content and percentage of calories from fat on their products' labels. (This applies to foods intended for children under the age of two.) The reason? To discourage "fat conscious" parents from restricting the fat in their babies' diets. Click here to join the discussion on Feeding Infants
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