", are nutrients in food that your body uses to build nerve tissue (like the brain) and hormones. Your body also uses fat as fuel. If fats that you've eaten aren't burned as energy or used as building blocks, they're stored by the body in fat cells. This is your body's way of thinking ahead: By saving fat for future use, your body plans for times when food might be scarce."

"Fat gives food flavor and texture, but it's also high in calories, and excess amounts of fatty foods (as with excess amounts of any food) can cause many health risks. For children and adolescents, desserts and snacks (including potato chips, chocolate, cakes, doughnuts, pastries, and cookies) are a significant source of fat. Kids also get fat from whole milk products and high-fat meats, such as bacon, hot dogs, and nonlean red meat."

"Of course, fast-food and take-out meals tend to have more fat than home cooking; and in restaurants, fried dishes are the highest in fat content. Fat also often "hides" in foods in the form of creamy, cheesy, or buttery sauces or dressings."

"Still, though, fat is an important part of a healthy diet when your child eats the right kinds of fats (especially those from certain kinds of fish) in recommended amounts."

"Although many of today's children are much less physically fit than previous generations and the percentage of "

" children has more than doubled in the United States since 1976, fatty foods certainly aren't the lone culprit behind the obesity epidemic."

", spending time on the computer, and playing video games), and eating larger portions of foods than we need take the lion's share of blame for the obesity epidemic. Of course, lower-fat diets have been recommended to promote good health and help people prevent obesity and maintain a healthy "

"However, there's confusion about the amount of fat that should be in a healthy diet, for both kids and adults. Fat has more than twice as many calories as protein or carbohydrates (1 gram of fat provides 9 calories, whereas 1 gram of both carbohydrates and protein provide 4 grams each). So fat is, therefore, a great source of energy but also adds twice the amount of calories to a meal."

"There are many different "diets" that suggest different amounts of fat - or even no fat - as being healthy. However, some experts think the low-fat/no-fat revolution has gone too far, overlooking the complex nature of fats and how they work in the body. In fact, the new dietary recommendations emphasize healthy percentages of calories in the diet from fats for kids, teens, and adults."

"To help you figure out how to size up fat in your child's diet, here's a look at the three major types:"

" Found in plant foods and fish, these fats are seen as neutral or even beneficial to "

" Found in meat and other animal products, such as butter, shortening, lard, cheese, and milk (except skim or nonfat), saturated fats are also in palm and coconut oils, which are often used in commercial baked goods. Eating too much saturated fat can raise blood "

" Found in margarine (especially the sticks), commercial snack foods and baked goods, and some commercially fried foods, trans fats (also called trans fatty acids) are created when vegetable oils are hydrogenated (meaning that hydrogen atoms are added to the fat molecule so they remain solid at room temperature). Like saturated fats, eating too much trans fat can raise cholesterol and increase the risk of heart disease. By 2006, food manufacturers must list trans fats on food labels. For now, keep an eye out for "hydrogenated" or "partially hydrogenated" oils on the ingredient list."

"When you're out shopping for food, picking up products, and perusing labels, it's important to understand that your child may eat a portion that is larger than the serving size on the label. For example, a bag of corn chips might list 5 chips as a serving size. But your child may typically eat 10 to 15 chips in a typical meal. That's why it's always important to compare serving sizes."

"When it comes to fat, labels can say many things. Low-fat, reduced fat, light (or lite), and fat-free are common terms you may see on food packages. The government has strict rules about the use of two of these phrases. By law:"

" foods are a little trickier, though, and you may need to do some supermarket sleuthing. Light (lite) and reduced-fat foods may still be high in fat. The requirement for a food to be labeled light (lite) is that it must contain 50% less fat or one third fewer calories per serving than the regular version of that food."

"Foods labeled reduced fat must contain 25% less fat per serving than the regular version. But if the regular version of a particular food was high in fat to begin with, a 25% to 50% reduction may not lower the fat content enough to make it a smart snacking choice. For example, the original version of a brand of peanut butter contains 17 grams of fat and
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